On Sunday, a suicide bomb was detonated in the heart of Istanbul, wounding 17 civilians and 15 police. Istanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın said the male bomber tried but failed to get into a parked police van, detonating the bomb just outside the vehicle.
After the incident, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Edogan said:
I am, once again, reminding all that there will be no tolerance to those who want to stir up trouble and break the peace, stability and security atmosphere and that these attacks can never retain Turkey from solidarity, brotherhood and its growth targets. We are one, we are together, we are brothers and these games will be broken as long as our solidarity, unity and brotherhood remains. What lies behind these games? The prevention of a developed and modern Turkey lies behind [them]!
The attack came on the deadline for the unilateral cease-fire that had been declared by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The PKK has not made a statement about the attack and the government has not accused any group of involvement in the bombing.