After a harrowing year in which Istanbul was the target of several terrorist attacks, 38 people were killed and a further 166 wounded in a twin bomb attack in Istanbul last night.
The bomb was triggered at around 11pm local time, outside the Besiktas Vodafone Arena, following a football match.
Car bomb and suicide bomber strike Istanbul, says minister https://t.co/Uh9Ztmm7kj pic.twitter.com/snqp2f1Xmg
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 10, 2016
The second bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber wearing a vest, less than two kilometers from the arena at Macka Park.
Of the 38 killed, 30 were identified as being police officers who were the targets of the attack.
At least 20 people wounded by an explosion outside a football stadium in #Istanbul - Turkish interior minister says https://t.co/qNoFuHdMw3
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 10, 2016
It is understood that 13 people have now been arrested in relation to the terror attack.
No organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said that it was likely to be the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Istanbul has suffered several attacks at the hands of ISIS and the PKK during the year.
"These cruel attacks do not discourage us; to the contrary, they bring us together as a nation,” Minister Soylu told the press conference.
Istanbul has declared a national day of mourning following the attack.
