Blast Wounds Eight in Istanbul
By MARC CHAMPION
By MARC CHAMPION
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ISTANBUL—A bomb blast wounded eight people at a bus stop close to a police school in Istanbul Thursday morning. It wasn't yet known who was responsible or why the bomb was planted.
Istanbul police chief Huseyin Capkin said the blast was caused by a medium power explosive attached to an electric bicycle, which detonated at 8:58 a.m. local time. Eight people, including a passing police officer were injured in the explosion, but none had suffered life threatening injuries, officials said.
The blast was in the residential Etiler district, a favorite area for Istanbul's bankers and expatriates, and close to a police training school. "The fact that it took place in close proximity to a police school makes it possible this attack was aimed at the police. We are investigating," Mr. Capkin said.
Asked by reporters at the scene who might have planted the bomb, Mr. Capkin said it was too early to say anything on issue, but that a technical investigation was under way. "We will certainly find who did this," he said.
Speaking later on Thursday morning, Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters in televised remarks that he believed the target of the blast was civilians. "The fact that this took place where there are a lot of civilians passing shows that the primary target was civilians, our citizens," Mr. Mutlu said, adding that it was pure coincidence that a policeman was also passing as the bomb went off.
Turkish election campaigns are in full swing ahead of a June 12 poll and there have been a series of violent attacks. On Monday, police said they discovered a bomb under a bridge along Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's planned bus route to a campaign rally in Sirnak, eastern Turkey.
Mr. Mutlu also said the explosives may have been detonated by remote control or on a timer, with the timer more likely.
Earlier this month, the Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, claimed responsibility for an ambush of Mr. Erdogan's election convoy near Turkey's Black Sea coast. The attackers opened fire on the convoy and threw a hand grenade, killing a policeman. The PKK said the attack was in retaliation for recent offensives against the group by the Turkish military.
A PKK splinter group bombed police officers on Istanbul's central Taksim square on Oct. 31 last year, an attack from which the PKK—which at the time was on a unilateral ceasefire—quickly distanced itself. Earlier this year, the PKK said it was partially ending the ceasefire in order to respond to attacks against it.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for Thursday's blast.
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