Feature

Kurdish militants claim responsibility for Istanbul stadium attack

An offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has said it was responsible for a twin bomb attack on a football stadium in Turkey that killed 38 people.

A car bomb struck a police vehicle and a suicide bomber detonated a suicide vest outside the Vodafone Arena, the home of Turkish Süper Lig club Beşiktaş, on Saturday. The incidents took place just hours after Beşiktaş beat Bursaspor 2-1 at the venue.

The attack, which appeared to be coordinated against police officials, claimed the lives of 38 people, 30 of which were police officers, and injured scores more. Kurdistan Freed Hawks (TAK), the group claiming responsibility for the attacks, also confirmed that two of its militants were killed.

Turkey has suffered a wave of bomb attack this year from both the PKK and so-called Islamic State. A total of 13 people have been arrested in connection with Saturday’s twin attack.

According to Sky News, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu vowed to have “vengeance”, adding that, “blood will not be left on the ground, no matter what the price, what the cost”.

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