ISTANBUL—A deadly suicide bombing ripped through Istanbul’s most popular pedestrian thoroughfare Saturday morning, Turkish officials said, stoking fears of mounting urban terrorism after back-to-back attacks on cities across Turkey.
At least four people were killed and 39 wounded in the explosion, Istanbul Gov. Vasip Sahin said. Seven people remain in critical condition, he added. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said “the victims of this attack include citizens from many nations.”
The explosion took place at about 11 a.m. local time outside the district governor’s office on Istiklal Avenue in central Istanbul. Twenty-four foreign nationals, including some Israelis, were wounded in the attack, according to officials.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing. “Everything is being investigated in great detail,” Mr. Sahin said, declining to provide further details.
The attack appeared to target tourists in a lively area dotted with theaters, shops, bars and taverns that attract millions of locals and visitors daily. The neighborhood is also home to many mostly European diplomatic missions and residences.
 

Security forces secure the area near the scene of the explosion.

Authorities deployed bomb squads, riot police and dozens of ambulances to the area, cordoning off Istiklal Avenue starting from Istanbul’s main Taksim Square. Helicopters hovered over the area, while security forces cleared people from the blast site as they swept the neighborhood for clues. As Turkish officials widened their probe, the broadcasting watchdog in Ankara also issued a temporary coverage ban against images of the explosion, the blast site and casualties, as well as the investigation.
Mr. Davutoglu, who was in Brussels on Friday to negotiate the final agreement between Turkey and the European Union to tackle the migrant crisis, called a security meeting in Istanbul after the attack. The premier and his interior minister also briefed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the bombing.
“Whatever they do, we will not get used to terrorism, we will not step back,” Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said. “We will continue our daily lives; fighting terrorism is a national responsibility.”
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Democratic Peoples’ Party, or HDP, vehemently condemned the Istanbul bombing.
“This assault, like the previous attack in Ankara, is an act of terrorism that has directly targeted civilians,” the HDP said. The party, whose lawmakers the government accuses of supporting terrorism, also called for immediate talks to calm tensions while also blaming the state’s “wrong and inconsistent” domestic and foreign policies for the Istanbul bombing.
 “Our fight against terrorism will continue with determination, both at home and abroad,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday. “This is also our expectation from the whole world, especially from Europe: We need to act together against terrorism.”
Ankara’s Western allies swiftly condemned the attack on Saturday.
“There can be no justification for terrorism. NATO allies stand with Turkey, united in our determination to fight terrorism in all its forms,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
Saturday’s bombing marks the second time a blast has hit Turkey after NATO allies warned of imminent terrorist attacks.
Late Wednesday, Germany decided to shut its diplomatic missions and schools in Ankara and Istanbul, citing “very concrete indications.” Istanbul’s governor had dismissed the concerns and indirectly criticized Germany’s move Thursday, saying some foreign nations were taking steps based on insufficient information.
The U.S. had issued a similar warning two days before Sunday’s bombing in the Turkish capital, warning of a terrorist plot against a neighborhood nearby the central Ankara district that was hit.
Turkish officials have repeatedly denied allegations of security breaches, with Mr. Muezzinoglu saying Saturday that police and intelligence units were taking all necessary precautions.

 
Source:  Wall Street Journal, 19  March 2016