Istanbul nightclub shooting: The latest in a string of deadly attacks in Turkey
Following is a list of the worst attacks in Turkey in 2016:
At least 39 people were killed and 40 wounded in a “terror” attack in Istanbul on Sunday when at least one gunman reportedly dressed as Santa stormed a nightclub where partygoers were celebrating the New Year.
The attack was the latest in a year that has seen Istanbul and other Turkish cities rocked by a string of attacks blamed on Islamic State jihadists and Kurdish militants.
Following is a list of the worst attacks in Turkey in 2016:
Ambassador assassinated
December 19: Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, is shot dead at an Ankara art gallery by an off-duty policeman who claims he is acting to avenge the conflict in Syria and in particular the battered city of Aleppo.
December 17: 14 soldiers are killed and dozens of other people wounded in a suicide attack targeting a military bus in the central city of Kayseri. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), seen as a radical offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), claim responsibility.
December 10: Forty-four people are killed, mainly police officers, and 166 wounded when twin bombings struck Istanbul after a home football match hosted by top side Besiktas. TAK claims it was behind the attacks.
November 24: A car bombing in the southern city of Adana kills two people and injures 33.
November 4: Nine people, including two policemen, are killed in a car bombing at a police station in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey’s Kurdish majority southeast. It is claimed by Islamic State and then TAK.
October 9: Eighteen people are killed when a van explodes near a police post in the southeastern district of Semdinli, a bombing blamed on the PKK.
August 26: 11 police officers are killed in a suicide car bombing in Cizre, a mainly Kurdish southeastern town on the Syrian border, which was claimed by the PKK.
August 20: 57 people, 34 of them children, die in an IS-linked bomb attack on a Kurdish wedding in the Turkish city of Gaziantep near the Syrian border. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames the IS group.
Istanbul airport targeted
June 28: 47 people are killed, including foreigners, and over 200 injured in a triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. There is no claim of responsibility but authorities say evidence points to IS.
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. The TAK claims the attack and warns tourists to stay away.
March 19: Three Israelis and an Iranian are killed and dozens injured in a suicide bombing targeting Istanbul shopping thoroughfare Istiklal Caddesi. The authorities blame IS.
March 13: 34 people are killed and dozens wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in Ankara. TAK claims the assault.
February 17: At least 28 people are killed and about 80 hurt in a suicide bombing targeting the Turkish military in Ankara. The attack is also claimed by TAK.
January 12: Twelve German tourists are killed and more than a dozen others 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. The prime minister said the bomber belonged to IS.
- In the bloodiest attack in Turkey’s history, 103 people are killed and more than 500 wounded on October 10, 2015, in twin suicide bombings targeting a pro-Kurdish peace rally in Ankara. The prime minister says IS was the main suspect.