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Suicide bomber wounds 22 in central Istanbul: police
ISTANBUL: A suicide bomb ripped through crowds of shoppers and cafe-goers in the heart of Istanbul on Sunday, wounding 22 people, as an extended unilateral ceasefire by the separatist PKK came to an end.
The blast targeted riot-police patrolling the busy Taksim Square in the centre of the Turkish economic capital, police chief Huseyin Capkin said.
"We think it was a suicide attack," he said, adding that 12 of the injured were civilians and 10 were police.
Capkin said none of the injured were in danger and the only fatality was the bomber, who blew himself up before reaching his intended target.
"He tried to get into a police bus but didn't succeed," he said.
Turkish television showed footage of police taking away the lifeless body of a man from the scene, as well as dazed and injured people receiving first aid.
Capkin did not say who was suspected of responsibility, but the separatist rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and extreme left-wing groups have carried out bomb attacks in the past in Istanbul, home to more than 12 million inhabitants.
Analysts quoted by television stations pointed to likely PKK involvement, whose unilateral ceasefire declared on August 13 was due to end on Sunday.
The PKK said on September 30 that it had decided to extend its truce by one month, an announcement taken to mean it would end on October 30.
Istanbul governor Avni Mutlu said the bombing was the work of a "terrorist organisation" without elaborating. He told reporters that an investigation was underway to identify the culprits.
Murat Karayilan, a top commander of the outlawed PKK, last week said the PKK would no longer target civilians and wanted to extend a unilateral truce indefinitely if the government demonstrates a commitment to dialogue.
"We are actually in favour of a permanent ceasefire"¦ We are waiting. We have not decided yet," he told the Radikal newspaper.
Taksim Square, and the streets leading to it, attract tens of thousands of people a day and are patrolled by anti-riot police around the clock.
According to witnesses quoted by news channels, the powerful blast shook the area around 10.30 am (0830 GMT), blowing out windows in nearby offices and hotels.
Footage showed police and ambulances rushing to the scene.
Police immediately threw a security cordon around the area, and streets including the pedestrianised historic Istiklal were closed off, the CNN-Turk and NTV channels reported.
On June 22 a bomb exploded in a suburb of Istanbul as a bus full of soldiers was going past, killing five soldiers and the teenage daughter of one of them.
Responsibility was claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), an obscure radical group loyal to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, jailed for life in 1999.
The Turkish authorities say TAK is a front used by the PKK, especially when attacks claim civilian casualties.
The PKK has said TAK is a splinter group outside its control.
The PKK has waged a bloody 26-year campaign for self-rule in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey. — AFP
http://public.dawn.com/2010/10/31/suicide-bomber-wounds-22-in-central-istanbul-police.html
ISTANBUL: A suicide bomb ripped through crowds of shoppers and cafe-goers in the heart of Istanbul on Sunday, wounding 22 people, as an extended unilateral ceasefire by the separatist PKK came to an end.
The blast targeted riot-police patrolling the busy Taksim Square in the centre of the Turkish economic capital, police chief Huseyin Capkin said.
"We think it was a suicide attack," he said, adding that 12 of the injured were civilians and 10 were police.
Capkin said none of the injured were in danger and the only fatality was the bomber, who blew himself up before reaching his intended target.
"He tried to get into a police bus but didn't succeed," he said.
Turkish television showed footage of police taking away the lifeless body of a man from the scene, as well as dazed and injured people receiving first aid.
Capkin did not say who was suspected of responsibility, but the separatist rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and extreme left-wing groups have carried out bomb attacks in the past in Istanbul, home to more than 12 million inhabitants.
Analysts quoted by television stations pointed to likely PKK involvement, whose unilateral ceasefire declared on August 13 was due to end on Sunday.
The PKK said on September 30 that it had decided to extend its truce by one month, an announcement taken to mean it would end on October 30.
Istanbul governor Avni Mutlu said the bombing was the work of a "terrorist organisation" without elaborating. He told reporters that an investigation was underway to identify the culprits.
Murat Karayilan, a top commander of the outlawed PKK, last week said the PKK would no longer target civilians and wanted to extend a unilateral truce indefinitely if the government demonstrates a commitment to dialogue.
"We are actually in favour of a permanent ceasefire"¦ We are waiting. We have not decided yet," he told the Radikal newspaper.
Taksim Square, and the streets leading to it, attract tens of thousands of people a day and are patrolled by anti-riot police around the clock.
According to witnesses quoted by news channels, the powerful blast shook the area around 10.30 am (0830 GMT), blowing out windows in nearby offices and hotels.
Footage showed police and ambulances rushing to the scene.
Police immediately threw a security cordon around the area, and streets including the pedestrianised historic Istiklal were closed off, the CNN-Turk and NTV channels reported.
On June 22 a bomb exploded in a suburb of Istanbul as a bus full of soldiers was going past, killing five soldiers and the teenage daughter of one of them.
Responsibility was claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), an obscure radical group loyal to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, jailed for life in 1999.
The Turkish authorities say TAK is a front used by the PKK, especially when attacks claim civilian casualties.
The PKK has said TAK is a splinter group outside its control.
The PKK has waged a bloody 26-year campaign for self-rule in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey. — AFP
http://public.dawn.com/2010/10/31/suicide-bomber-wounds-22-in-central-istanbul-police.html
