2008 Istanbul bombings

{{short description|2008 bombings with 17 fatalities, including 5 children}}

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = 2008 Istanbul bombings

| image = {{Location map| Turkey Istanbul

|width = 250px

|float = right

|alt =

|label =

|position = right

|mark =

|caption =

|lat_deg = 41.0121548

|lon_deg = 28.8723365

}}

| caption =

| location = {{flagicon|TUR}} Güngören, Istanbul, Turkey

| coordinates =

| date = July 27, 2008

| time = 18:45

| timezone = UTC

| type = Bombings

| fatalities = 17{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jl5Of8Rk7UJyxwWurbEN3r71UUFA|title=Istanbul bomb attacks kill 17|publisher=AFP|date=2008-07-07|access-date=2008-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520160317/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jl5Of8Rk7UJyxwWurbEN3r71UUFA|archive-date=2011-05-20|url-status=dead}}

| injuries = 154

| perps =

}}

The 2008 Istanbul bombings occurred on July 27, 2008 when two explosions hit a busy shopping street in the Güngören district of Istanbul, killing seventeen people, five of them children, and injuring 154.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7527977.stm|title= Deadly blasts hit Istanbul street|date=2008-07-28|publisher=BBC|access-date=2008-07-28}} The attacks occurred at 9:45 p.m. local time, 18:45 UTC,{{cite news|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/9529506.asp?gid=244&sz=55577|title=Double bombing kills 17, injures more than 150 in Turkey's Istanbul|publisher=Hurriyet|date=2008-07-27|access-date=2008-07-28}} on a pedestrian street closed to traffic.{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/world/istanbul-blasts-kill-17-and-injure-more-than-150-20080728-3m8v.html|title=Istanbul blasts kill 17 and injure more than 150|publisher=The Age|access-date=2008-07-28|date=2008-07-28|archive-date=2008-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080817055052/http://www.theage.com.au/world/istanbul-blasts-kill-17-and-injure-more-than-150-20080728-3m8v.html|url-status=dead}} The bombings were the deadliest civilian attacks in Turkey since the 2003 Istanbul bombings, five years earlier.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121724008479989537?mod=googlenews_wsj|title=Turkey Blames Kurdish Rebels For Istanbul Blasts That Killed 17|publisher=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2008-07-28|date=2008-07-28}}

Details

The first of the two bombs was a sonic bomb which was placed in a telephone cabin and second bomb was placed in a waste container 50 meters away, near a crowded street. The first bomb caused crowds to gather for help and curiosity, and around 10 minutes later, the second and more powerful bomb exploded, causing many of the casualties. The police believe that the bombs were activated remotely. Political analyst Damla Aras said that, "there is a possibility they might be A4, C-4 explosives, which were brought from northern Iraq by the PKK and have been used several times in Turkey."{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2008/07/2008727193036298109.html|title=Deadly bombings hit Istanbul|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=2008-07-28|date=2008-07-28}}

Early on, news sources thought the first explosion was caused by a gas leak.

The blasts were the deadliest to hit Istanbul since a series of bombings in November 2003 that killed over 60 people.{{Cite news |date=2008-07-27 |title=TIMELINE: Recent attacks in Turkey |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-explosions-attacks-idUSL0926712620080727 |access-date=2023-03-07}}

Investigation

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombing as of yet, although Kurdish separatist militants are suspected.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/world/europe/28turkey.html?hp|title=Bombs Kill 15 in a Crowded Istanbul Neighborhood|last=Arsu|first=Sebnem|date=2008-07-28|work=The New York Times|access-date=2008-07-28}} The Istanbul Police indicate that the incident bears the hallmarks of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), possibly in revenge for a series of major operations by the Turkish military on its bases days prior to the incident. However a senior member of the PKK, Zubeyir Aydar, denied the implication: "The Kurdish liberation movement is not involved in this attack."

Based on a tip from residents, three teenagers were taken into custody in connection to the bombings.{{cite news|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080059139&ch=7/28/2008%206:39:00%20PM|title=3 teenagers detained for Istanbul attack|publisher=NDTV|access-date=2008-07-28|date=2008-07-28}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Nine people were indicted in December 2008 over the bombings.{{cite news|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10588200.asp?scr=1|title=Prosecutors say PKK responsible for Turkey's twin bomb attack|publisher=Hurriyet|access-date=2008-12-18|date=2008-12-17}}