Suicide attack on pedestrian boulevard kills at least 5, injures dozens;

Turkish officials said three Israelis were among the five people killed in a suicide bombing that rocked a main pedestrian thoroughfare in the heart of Istanbul on Saturday. At least 11 Israelis were among the 36 injured in the explosion. Turkish authorities identified another of the people killed as an Iranian national. 3 Israelis said killed. Israeli officials named one fatality as Dimona-native Simha Damri, 60, who was in Istanbul as part of a culinary tour with her husband Avi, who was also injured in the attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that two Israelis had been killed and said it was possible there was a third Israeli fatality.
Speaking to the Israeli press after an emergency meeting, he said officials were investigating if Israelis had been targeted in the bombing, and said intelligence pointed to it being an Islamic State attack. Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said that 36 people were wounded in the bombing, seven of them seriously. Two of the Israelis injured in the blast were seriously hurt, and one was undergoing surgery in an Istanbul hospital, Channel 2 reported.

Two Magen David Adom ambulance planes left Israel Saturday evening for Istanbul to retrieve those injured in the attack and bring them back to Israel for treatment. Foreign Ministry Director Dore Gold was to fly to Istanbul Sunday as well in coordination with Turkish authorities.
Ten other Israelis in the country remained out of contact with Israeli authorities. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said the embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul were monitoring events. Turkey has remained a popular destination for Israeli tourists, despite a years-long freeze in ties between the two countries.

“This is a suicide attack, a terrorist attack,” Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters at the scene, saying the bomber was also killed.
It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the bombing, but Turkish officials pointed the finger at either Kurdish groups or the Islamic State group, both of which have been accused of carrying out attacks in Turkey recently. Turkish media identified the suicide bomber as Savaz Yildiz, 33, from the Turkish city of Adana, who was known to Turkish authorities. It wasn’t clear to which organization he belonged, however.

CCTV footage published online by the private Dogan news agency appeared to show the moment of the blast, with a fireball erupting near a handful of passersby and sending them rushing for cover.


http://www.timesofisrael.com/explosion-rocks-major-istanbul-shopping-street-reports/




Coincidence or planned to target israeli's?
Heart goes out tot he victims families. Its bad enough that yet again Turkey has been targeted with suicide bombers. To then discover on reading down the Israel Times this appalling story




"Turkish official fired after wishing death on Israelis hurt in bombing
Ruling party official Irem Aktas tweet riles Turks after deadly Istanbul bombing; PM instructs Foreign Ministry to seek official apology"

http://www.timesofisrael.com/turkish-official-fired-after-wishing-death-on-israelis-hurt-in-bombing/