Click here to watch: CCTV Catches Moment of suicide blast in central Istanbul
Turkish officials said three Israelis were among the five people killed in a suicide bombing that rocked a main pedestrian thoroughfare in the heart of Istanbul on Saturday. At least 11 Israelis were among the 36 injured in the explosion. Turkish authorities identified another of the people killed as an Iranian national. Turkish Deputy Health Minister Ahmet Baha Ogutken confirmed in a statement to the Daily Sabah newspaper that an Israeli woman was killed in the explosion. Eli Bin, head of Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services, told Channel 2 that “there is one Israeli killed whose family has been notified.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it feared two or three Israelis were killed in the blast, but declined to confirm reports as to the number of Israelis killed in the attack. Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said that 36 people were wounded in the bombing, seven of them seriously. Two of the Israelis injured in the blast were seriously hurt, and one was undergoing surgery in an Istanbul hospital, Channel 2 reported.
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Two Magen David Adom ambulance planes were to leave Israel at 6:30 p.m. for Istanbul to retrieve those injured in the attack and bring them back to Israel for treatment. Foreign Ministry Director Dore Gold was to fly to Istanbul Sunday as well in coordination with Turkish authorities. Ten other Israelis in the country remained out of contact with Israeli authorities. “This is a suicide attack, a terrorist attack,” Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters at the scene, saying the bomber was also killed. It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the bombing, but Turkish officials pointed the finger at either Kurdish groups or the Islamic State group, both of which have been accused of carrying out attacks in Turkey recently. Turkish media identified the suicide bomber as Savaz Yildiz, 33, from the Turkish city of Adana, who was known to Turkish authorities. It wasn’t clear to which organization he belonged, however. CCTV footage published online by the private Dogan news agency appeared to show the moment of the blast, with a fireball erupting near a handful of passersby and sending them rushing for cover.
Source: Times of Israel
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