Suicide bomber injures 15 in central Istanbul
Suicide attack targetting anti-riot police in central Istanbul leaves 15 people injured
Istanbul: A suicide bomber blew himself up in the centre of Istanbul on Sunday, wounding 15 people, police said.
Six of the injured were civilians and nine were policemen, the city's police chief Huseyin Capkin said.
Turkish television said the attack was aimed at anti-riot police.
The attack took place in the central district of Taksim on the European side of the city.
According to eyewitnesses quoted by television news channels, a powerful blast shook the area, which is right in the centre of the city.
Footage showed police and ambulances in attendance at the scene.
A security barrier was set up around the area and the nearby Istiklal Street pedestrian mall was closed off, the CNN-Turk and NTV television channels reported.
Members of the separatist rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party and extreme left-wing groups have carried out bomb attacks in the past in Istanbul, which is home to more than 12 million.
