US, Britain condemn Istanbul bombing that killed 38, wounded 166

ISTANBUL, Turkey – The United States and Britain condemned bomb attacks in Istanbul that killed at least 38 people and wounded 166.

“Our hearts and prayers are with the people of #Istanbul tonight,” tweeted the US Embassy in Turkey following Saturday night’s attack.

“We condemn tonight’s cowardly attack, and salute the courage of the Turkish people as we stand with them against terror,” a follow-up tweet added.

The British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also took to Twitter to, “Condemn the attack in #Istanbul.”

“My thoughts are with all those affected,” he added. “UK committed to working with #Turkey to tackle terrorism.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also expressed support for Turkey following the attack.

“I condemn the horrific acts of terror in #Istanbul. My thoughts are with those who lost loved ones and our Ally Turkey,” Stoltenberg tweeted.

Saturday nights attack saw two bombs hit central Istanbul, killing 38 people and wounding 166.

Early on Sunday morning Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the first attack was a car bomb targeting riot place. Then, 45 seconds later, a suicide bomber nearby also detonated himself.

Both explosions took place near the city’s Beşiktaş Vodafone Arena Stadium at approximately 10:20 pm and were heard on both sides of the Bosphorus Strait.

According to Hurriyet news, Kurtulmus also announced that 13 suspects have been detained since the attack.

Turkey’s Health Minister Recep Akdag said 20 people were discharged from hospitals after the attack, six of the injured are in intensive care units, three are in critical condition.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, this is the latest in a long line of terrorist bombings to strike Turkey’s major cities. Last August 57 people, 34 of them children, were killed in a bombing, believed to have been carried out by ISIS, of a Kurdish wedding in the city of Gaziantep.

In June ISIS was believed to have been behind the gun and suicide bomb attack on Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, which killed 47 people and injured 200. Earlier that month the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) group claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a police vehicle in Istanbul, which killed seven police officers along with four civilians.

In March another attack believed to have been carried out by ISIS killed three Israelis and an Iranian in Istanbul shortly after another attack, claimed by TAK, killed 29 people in Ankara.

Twelve German tourists were killed in January in Turkey’s historic Sultanahmet district in another attack believed to have been carried out by ISIS.

ISIS seldom claims responsibility for such attacks in Turkey.