The Turkish government has declared a day of mourning after a twin bomb attack outside a football stadium in İstanbul killed 38 people, mostly police officers, and injured more than 160 others.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, declared a day of mourning and ordered flags flown at half mast to commemorate the victims, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
The explosions, triggered by a car and a suicide bomber less than one minute apart, struck outside Beşiktaş’s stadium less than two hours after a match had finished on Saturday evening.
Officials said the attack, which killed more than 30 police officers, was believed to have been orchestrated by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and that 13 people had been detained overnight.
Fourteen of the 166 wounded remained in intensive care, according to a statement from Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.
In comments broadcast on CNN Turk, Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmuş, said countries offering messages condemning the bombing should also show solidarity with Turkey’s fight against terrorism.
“The arrows point to the PKK. It was clearly a planned event. There will be an announcement once the investigations are over. We cannot say anything definite for now,” he said.
