A car bomb exploded outside the home stadium of football giants Besiktas and less than a minute later, a suicide attacker blew himself up at a nearby park which claimed 38 lives.
A defiant President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed to fight terror "to the end" as a Kurdish militant group claimed twin attacks that ripped through Istanbul, killing 38 people, mostly police.
The bloodshed, which took place late on Saturday, saw a car bomb exploding outside the home stadium of football giants Besiktas and less than a minute later, a suicide attacker blew himself up by a group of police at a nearby park.
Most of the dead were police officers, who accounted for 30 of the victims. Seven civilians also died, along with one person whose identity was unclear, officials said. Around 150 people were wounded in the blasts.
The carnage prompted a sharp response from Erdogan, who vowed Ankara would "fight the scourge of terrorism right to the end". "They should know that they will not get away with it ...They will pay a heavier price."
The attacks were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), which is seen as a radical offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). "A revenge squad from TAK carried out simultaneous attacks outside Istanbul Vodafone Arena stadium and Macka park at around 10:30 pm local time (1930 GMT)," said a statement posted on TAK's website. "Turkish people are not the direct target of TAK," it said, accusing the government of "fascism" against the Kurdish people.
The group has claimed three major attacks in Turkey this year: two in Ankara -- one on February 17 that left 28 dead, and another on March 13 that killed 34 -- as well as a car bombing in Istanbul on June 7 which claimed 11 lives.
Turkish officials had earlier said initial findings pointed to the PKK which that has waged a bloody campaign against the Turkish state since 1984.
In a ceremony for five of the victims at the city's police headquarters, Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim met with the families, looking on silently as the flag-draped coffins were brought in. "Sooner or later we will have our revenge," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told the mourners. "The arm of the law is long". Erdogan later chaired an emergency meeting of cabinet ministers in Istanbul to discuss the situation.
On the streets, people gathered outside the stadium to lay flowers, many holding Turkish flags and shouting "Down with the PKK!" and "Our homeland is indivisible!" "They won't be able to divide Turkey, they won't be able to break it into pieces," one man said, who gave his name only as Muammed. But there was also anger. "God curse the PKK!" said one woman mourner in her 50s.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the attack had targeted police. "Experts say at least 300-400 kilogrammes of explosives had been used. There was a pit where the car detonated," he said on CNN Turk television.
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