ISTANBUL—Turkey declared a national day of mourning Sunday after twin blasts in Istanbul killed 38 people and wounded 155 others near a soccer stadium—the latest large-scale assault to traumatize a nation confronting an array of security threats.
The bombs Saturday night targeted police officers, killing 30 of them along with seven civilians and an unidentified person, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters Sunday. He said 13 people had been arrested in connection with the “terrorist attack.”
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim ordered flags to fly at half-staff Sunday across the country and at Turkey’s foreign missions.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but two officials said suspicions were focused on Kurdish militants.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told the private news channel CNN Turk that “arrows point to the PKK.” He was referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has waged a decades-long insurgency. That preliminary assessment was echoed by the interior minister.
“We have once again witnessed tonight in Istanbul the ugly face of terror which tramples on every value and decency,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Soylu said 136 people remained hospitalized after the attack, including 14 under intensive care.
