Suicide bomber strikes Istanbul centre
A female suicide bomber blew herself up at a police station in Istanbul, killing a policeman and wounding another, according to Turkish news agencies.
The woman entered the police station and reported a missing wallet before detonating a bomb, Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said. The attack occurred in the Sultan Ahmet district, a popular tourist destination.
The police building was the tourism outpost of the security force, and is located near several main tourist spots including the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.
English speaking female suicide bomber blows herself up at #Istanbul police station, injuring two policemen pic.twitter.com/mLxvH66Zob
— Inga Rogg (@ingarogg) January 6, 2015
Local media outlet also reports that three suspicious packages in the area have been detonated by a bomb squad.
It is the second attack on police in a week in Istanbul. On Thursday, police subdued a man after he threw grenades and fired a weapon at officers near the prime minister’s offices.
The leftist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front, or DHKP-C, said it carried out the Thursday attack. DHKP-C is considered as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the European Union.
Mr Sahin said that police are still trying to identify the woman who died in Tuesday’s attack.
“She spoke in English, entered (the police station) on the pretext that she had lost her wallet,” he said.
