At least three people were wounded Saturday night after a bomb detonated at a bus stop in the Mecidiyeköy neighborhood of the Şişli district, in central Istanbul. It is one of the more prominent business quarters of Turkey’s largest city.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier in the day, Turkish police discovered a suspicious bag at another bus stop. The security forces deployed a bomb squad robot to safely detonate the bomb within.
The blast came just hours after a ‘credible threat’ alert from the U.S. embassy in Turkey, warning citizens to stay away from tourist sites and crowded areas in Istanbul and Antalya.
The American alert followed a renewed “high concrete threat” warning on Friday by Israel to its citizens. Israel’s National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau urged Israelis to leave Turkey at once, and advised those who were planning to travel to the country to postpone their trips for now.
Emergency response teams sealed off the area as Turkish police and security personnel swarmed in to determine who was behind the bombing.
