Major bomb attacks in Turkey

ISTANBUL – A triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport on Tuesday (Early Wednesday morning, Singapore time) killed dozens and injured more than a hundred people. Turkey’s prime minister said early signs pointed to an assault by the Islamic State group.

The following is a list of the worst bomb attacks in Turkey since 1986:

2016

June 28: At least 36 people are killed in a triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport.

June 7: At least seven police officers and four civilians die when a bomb rips through a police vehicle near the historic centre of Istanbul.

March 19: Three Israelis and an Iranian are killed and dozens injured in a suicide bombing blamed on Islamic State jihadists targeting an Istanbul shopping thoroughfare, the Istiklal Caddesi.

March 13: At least 34 people are killed and dozens wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in Ankara. The assault is claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a radical offshoot of the better-known Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Feb 17: At least 29 are killed in a car bombing targeting the Turkish military in Ankara. The attack is also claimed by TAK.

Jan 12: Eleven German tourists are killed and another 16 people wounded in a suicide attack by a Syrian bomber in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district, the ancient tourist heart of the city and home of the Blue Mosque.

2015

Oct 10: In the bloodiest attack in Turkey’s history, 103 people are killed and more than 500 wounded in twin suicide bombings targeting a pro-Kurdish peace rally in Ankara. Authorities blame IS.

July 20: 34 people are killed and about 100 wounded in a suicide bombing in the predominantly Kurdish town of Suruc near the border with Syria. Turkish officials blame IS.

2013

May 11: A twin car bomb attack kills 52 people in the town of Reyhanli near the Syrian border. Ankara blames pro-Damascus groups.

Feb 11: 17 people are killed when a Syrian minibus explodes in Reyhanli.

2008

July 27: Two bombings in Istanbul leave 17 dead and 115 wounded. Ankara blames the PKK.

2006

Sept 12: 10 people, including children, are killed in a bomb blast in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mainly Kurdish south-east.

2003

Nov 15 and 20: Four suicide car bomb attacks in Istanbul hit two synagogues, the British consulate and a branch of the British multinational bank HSBC, leaving 63 dead, including Britain’s consul general, and hundreds wounded. The attacks are claimed by Al-Qaeda and a Turkish extremist group named the Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient.

1999

March 13: 12 people are killed in a firebombing on an Istanbul shopping mall. The attack is claimed by the PKK, which later retracts its statement.

1991

Dec 25: Explosives and firebombs are hurled at an Istanbul department store, killing 17 people and injuring 23. The attack is blamed on the PKK.

1986

Sept 6: A twin suicide bombing kills 22 people at a synagogue in Istanbul.

AFP