11 people have been killed and 36 injured in a bomb attack targeting a police vehicle in Istanbul, the Turkish city’s governor Vasip Sahin said.
The remote-controlled device exploded as a shuttle bus carrying police officers was passing in the Beyazit district of the city on Tuesday morning, Turkey’s state-run TRT channel reported.
Vasip Sahin said seven of the dead were police officers, and three of the injured were in a critical condition.
Ambulances and fire engines were dispatched to the scene, the Guardian reports.
Reportedly, the police believe that there is a threat of the second explosion.
Turkey is on high security alert after two deadly attacks in Istanbul this year blamed on Daesh jihadis, and twin attacks in Ankara that were claimed by Kurdish militants and killed dozens.
The Ankara attacks were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) – a radical splinter group of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK).
PKK rebels have been targeting police and military targets since July when a fragile peace process collapsed. Daesh has also been blamed for a series of deadly bombings in Turkey.
