Turkish political leaders, UN security council, condemns Saturday’s terror attack in Istanbul

Turkey’s political leaders, UN security council, condemns Saturday’s terror attack in Istanbul. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told broadcaster CNN Turk on Sunday that the Kurdistan Workers Party, an outlawed group that has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, may be behind the attack.

ANKARA, Dec 12 — Political leaders of Turkey issued a joint statement at the parliament on Sunday, condemning Saturday’s terror attack near a football stadium in Istanbul, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

In parliament, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the main opposition Republican’s People Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said in th statement they are in full support of the security forces in the fight against terrorism.

Turkey’s opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) also condemned the attack in a separate statement.

Late Saturday, two explosions rocked central Istanbul near Besiktas’s Vodafone Arena Stadium, leaving 38 people killed and 155 others wounded according to local media reports.

The Kurdish militant group Kurdistan Freedom Hawks linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks.

Turkey declared a day of national mourning on Sunday for the victims.

Also on Sunday, Turkey declared a day of national mourning for the victims of two explosions that rocked central Istanbul the previous evening.

The first blast, a car bombing, occurred outside Besiktas Vodafone Arena near Istanbul’s central Taksim Square around 11 p.m. local time, and the second, a suicide bombing, less than a minute later at a nearby park, the reports said.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told broadcaster CNN Turk on Sunday that the Kurdistan Workers Party, an outlawed group that has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, may be behind the attack.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council on Sunday condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist attacks” in Istanbul, Turkey, which left scores dead and 155 others injured.

The 15-nation UN body, in a press statement, reaffirmed that “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.”

Two bomb blasts outside a football stadium in central Istanbul on Saturday, reports said, adding that a moving car was detonated targeting riot police on duty near a stadium in the district of Besiktas, where a football match ended about one and half an hour before.

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(From Xinhua and Kyodo reports)

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