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Fatal Suicide Bombing Strikes Istanbul Shopping District

The fourth suicide attack in Turkey this year hit Istiklal Street, a wide shopping boulevard in Istanbul that is lined with international stores and shopping centers.
Photo via EPA

A suicide bomber struck the center of Istanbul on Saturday, killing at least five people, including the attacker, and wounding 36 in a busy shopping district in Turkey's biggest city. Seven of the wounded are currently in serious condition and 12 are foreigners said Mehmet Muezzinoglu, the country's health minister.

The fourth suicide bombing in Turkey this year hit part of Istiklal Street, a long pedestrian zone lined with global brand name shops and foreign consulates, just a few hundred yards from an area where police buses are usually parked.

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Two American citizens were killed in the attack, the White House said in a statement.

"We are in close touch with Turkish authorities and reaffirm our commitment to work together with Turkey to confront the evil of terrorism," White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

A senior Turkish official told Reuters that preliminary findings indicate that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or an affiliate carried out the attack, though the Islamic State (IS) is also suspected. An Israeli media report identified the bomber as a 33-year-old Turkish national who was believed to be affiliated with IS. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

"The attacker detonated the bomb before reaching the targeted point because they were scared of the police," the official said, adding the bomber had planned to hit a more crowded spot.

Surveillance footage that appears to show the bombing emerged early Saturday afternoon.

Armed police sealed off the shopping street where half a dozen ambulances had gathered. Forensic teams in white suits scoured the area for evidence. Police helicopters buzzed overhead and panicked shoppers fled the area, ducking down narrow sidestreets.

"My local shopkeeper told me someone had blown himself up and I walked towards the end of the street," one neighborhood resident told Reuters.

"I saw a body on the street. No one was treating him but then I saw someone who appeared to be a regular citizen trying to do something to the body. That was enough for me and I turned and went back."

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Istiklal Street, usually thronged with shoppers on weekends, was quieter than normal before the blast as more people are staying home after a series of deadly bombings.

Related: PKK Was Behind Ankara Bombing, Claims Turkey

Israeli citizens were among those hurt, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Turkey's Dogan news agency reported earlier that three Israelis were wounded in the blast, but ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon could not confirm the number of Israelis harmed nor what condition they were in.

"We as a nation are unfortunately now face to face with a situation of unlimited, immeasurable acts that are inhumane, defy human values and are treacherous," Muezzinoglu said.

Germany closed its embassy in Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul, warning people to be vigilant due to "concrete evidence of planned terrorist attacks" in the country. After Saturday's attack, Turks took to Twitter to thank Germany for warning their country, using the hashtag #DankeSchoenDeutschland. Meanwhile others said Turkish authorities failed to adequately warn civilians prior to the attack, despite receiving warning from Germany.

Photos posted on Twitter showed the subway system in Ankara totally empty on Saturday after the blast. Istiklal Street appeared to be similarly abandoned.

Every time I passed through Istiklal in — Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa)March 19, 2016

A suicide car bombing in the capital Ankara killed 37 people last weekend. A similar bombing in Ankara last month killed 29 people. A Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for both of those bombings.

In January, a suicide bomber killed around 10 people, most of them German tourists, in Istanbul's historic heart, an attack the government blamed on IS.

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