On Saturday in Istanbul, two bombs went off outside Vodafone Arena, home to Turkish soccer club Besiktas, killing 29 people and injuring 166 more.
The bombing apparently targeted police, as 27 of the dead were police officers who had helped secure the stadium for the day’s match. The first explosion was reportedly a car bombing, while the second explosion was the result of a suicide bombing.
This explosion went off while police set up a perimeter during their investigation of smoke that was rising from the recently built Vodafone Arena .
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu gave a statement to the state run agency about what happened to cause the casualties.
“It is thought to be a car bomb at a point where our special forces police were located, right after the match at the exit where Bursaspor fans exited, after the fans had left.”
He also said the explosion took place on a hill adjacent to the stadium. Besiktas released a statement condemning the attacks:
“We hope that the citizens who were wounded in the attack will have a speedy recovery and that no greater suffering will be experienced. We condemn violence and hatred.”
No terrorist organization had claimed responsibility for the attacks as of late Saturday. Istanbul has seen multiple attacks this year from multiple terrorist groups, and remains a volatile area.
