Suicide Bomber Detonates In Central Istanbul Square: At Least 10 Dead
From the time AKP lost its absolute majority in parliament in June of last year, Turkey has been a hotbed for violence.
A suicide bomber killed more than two dozen people in Suruc the month after the elections, setting the stage for six months of turmoil including a deadly blast in Ankara that left more than 100 dead in October. Some have suggested the Erdogan regime staged the attacks in an effort to show Turks why a “strong” AKP government is necessary to keep the "peace".
On Tuesday we get the latest tragedy out of Turkey as at least 10 are dead in a suicide attack on Istanbul. The explosion rocked Sultanahmet Square outside the city’s Blue Mosque injuring 15 in addition to those killed.
“Police immediately shut down the site of the blast as graphic images emerged on social media of bodies in the main plaza in Istanbul’s old town, which is surrounded by the Ottoman-era Topkapi palace, the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, a sixth century church that is now a museum,” WSJ reports, adding that “the Turkish government quickly imposed a blanket media ban on coverage of the incident as investigators scoured the scene for evidence.”
Sultanahmet'te Gerçekle?en Patlama ?le ?lgili ?lk Aç?klama
https://t.co/urbfVC5ApY pic.twitter.com/O2PyV5vVuH
— TGB Ankara (@TGBAnkara) January 12, 2016
Sultanahmet'teki patlama sonras? bir polis arac?... Allah esirgesin
https://t.co/2XYTOMxoBR pic.twitter.com/4sZc075i0J
— Faruk (@farukonalan) January 12, 2016
#BREAKING: #News #Deadly #Explosion hits "the heart" of #Istanbul: https://t.co/fHjGBLWYWC
— AlwaysActions (@AlwaysActions) January 12, 2016
Here's Reuters with more:
An explosion in the heart of Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet tourist district killed at least ten people and wounded 15 on Tuesday and some local media reports said a suicide bomber may have been responsible.
Several bodies lay on the ground in the Sultanahmet square, close to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, a major tourist area of Turkey's most populous city. A police officer and witness at the scene reported also seeing several bodies and body parts.
Tourists from Germany and Norway were among the wounded, broadcaster CNN Turk said. An official from one tour company told Reuters a group from Germany was in the area at the time but said there was no immediate information on whether any of them had been injured.
The attack at the heart of one of the world's most visited cities comes as Turkey battles Kurdish militants in its southeast and Islamic State insurgents just across its southern borders in Syria and Iraq.
"We heard a loud sound and I looked at the sky to see if it was raining because I thought it was thunder but the sky was clear," a Kuwaiti tourist said. "The explosion was very loud. We shook a lot. We ran out and saw body parts," a local shop owner added.
"Ambulances started rushing in and I knew it was a bomb right away because the same thing happened here last year," a kiosk owner who sells snacks and drinks on the square remarked, referencing an explosion that rocked a police station for tourists a little over a year ago. "This is not good for Turkey but everyone was expecting a terrorist attack," the man adds, flatly.
There are some indications that German citizens were targeted in the blast. The bomber was "of Syrian-origin" President Erdogan says. Expect the anti-refugee movement in Germany to promptly trot this out as further evidence of why Angela Merkel should do away with the open-door policy for asylum seekers. We can almost see the signs now: "we give them asylum and they kill our tourists."
"Tourism revenues of $34 billion in 2014 accounted for about 4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product [while] Istanbul is the fifth-most visited city in the world," Bloomberg notes. "Following the blast, Germany’s Foreign Ministry issued an advisory for visitors to Turkey, saying they should avoid crowded areas including public squares near tourist attractions."
Here's a timeline from Hurriyet:
1:30 p.m. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Sultanahment explosion was a suicide attack of Syrian origin
1:25 p.m. Hour-long security meeting chaired by PM Davuto?lu has ended
1:15 p.m. Former Turkish President Abdullah Gül expressed his condolences to the families of the attack’s victims and urged unity against terror.
“Our citizens should support the government and the state in all related manners and act in accordance to its demands,” Gül has told reporters
1: 10 p.m. Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-leader Selahattin Demirta? extended condolence to families of the victims who lost their lives in the blast which he called a “brutal massacre.”
“We condemn the massacre in Sultanahmet. We will not stop following [the blast] so as not to let it be left in the dark and to reveal the ones responsible,” Demirta? said, while addressing a parliamentary group meeting of his party.
1:00 p.m. Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik has posted a tweet condemning the “vile” attack in Sultanahmet.
“May God rest the victims’ souls,” the tweet said, while wishing a quick recovery to all those wounded in the explosion.
12.50 Security authorities believe an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-linked suicide bomber was behind the explosion in Sultanahmet, daily Hürriyet has reported.
Authorities are focusing on ISIL links because tourists and civilians were targeted in a touristic area.
12.21 Security meeting to be held at Çankaya Palace under the chairmanship of PM Davuto?lu.
According to sources from the Prime Ministry, Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmu?, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Health Minister Mehmet Müezzino?lu, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlio?lu, National Intelligency Organization (M?T) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan and Director General of Public Security Celalettin Lekesiz will attend the meeting.
12.16 Six German citizens, one Norwegian and one Peruvian were among the three wounded people rushed to the Haseki Hospital, Do?an News Agency has reported.
Meanwhile, two people who were lightly wounded in the explosion were hospitalized at Bezmialem Vak?f University Hospital.
12.15 Interior Minister Efkan Ala briefs Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu for half an hour at the Prime Ministry residence. Davuto?lu has moved on to Çankaya Palace, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.
11. 50 The official Twitter account of the British Ambassador to Turkey posted a tweet expressing "concern" at reports of the Sultanahmet explosion.
"In touch with Turkish authorities. Thoughts with those injured. Nationalities of victims currently unknown," the tweet said.
11:44 The official twitter account of the United States Embassy in Ankara posted a tweet quoting U.S. Ambassador John Bass saying the U.S. is "closely following reports" on the explosion.
"Our thoughts are with those affected," the tweet said.
(2 votes)
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According to the new German immigration plan, Europe is supposed to fast-track Turkey into the EU, and give all Turkish citizens the right to travel to, live in, and receive welfare payments from all other European countries, in exchange for stopping further immigration from Syria.
Anyone want to tell me what the difference is between a goat herder in eastern Turkey with a goat herder in eastern Syria?
Thank God for the EU, speaking sanity in these crazy times. /s
When will people realize that the EU is THE fucking problem to Europe's woes?
I think most of Eastern Europe has gotten the message, as has the rising European "Right" movement. Regrettably, there are still a bunch of deluded mouth-breathers that think the EU is the only way forward for Europe, and without it Germany promptly invades France & Poland the next day. There are a few of these types on ZH, but I'll refrain from naming them explicitly.
Hey Haus, how come you never got back to me after your trip to the US ?
Fucking iPhone 5 from Q4 2012 died I lost everything. Send me another WhatsApp? I got a new job in downtown so meeting will be easier in the future.
do you have a new number. The old one doesn't work
Well, I see another Christian exploded in the middle of a bunch of people again.
Wouldn't be surprised if the Barry regime went ahead and blamed them anyway: "The bomber was a, um, (looks at ground) Coptic Christian. Yeah, that's the ticket."
Pristine passport found?
this workplace violence must stop. obama is an idiot, a coward, a communist, and a muslim.
Religion of "peace" is strike again!
Religion of Pieces
I heard 9 Germans were killed, not injured.
Anyone believe the Germans weren't targeted?
The whole thing stinks of a diversion from the real threat to the masses, The Economy and the "markets" looming crash.
Last week was but a precursor and TPTB are desperate to divert attention away from the mess they've created, a mess that should have the populace furious with the financial institutions who benefit from our demise!
Instead we're afraid and day by day more dependent on the very people who've fucked everything up, to SAVE US from "Terrorists".
While we crash headlong into depression, the talking heads tell us all is well, the dollar is strong, a perfect buying opportunity, OMG, LOOK THERE'S A TERRORIST BEHIND YOU, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, CALL THE POPO!
Pieces of body?
there are no bunch of "deluded mouth-breathers" its called the MIDDLE CLASS
only them and 1% profited from trillions printed. they very well know, that if 1% go, they will go too, Hitler is coming to Germany, earth will shake
"When will people realize that the EU is THE fucking problem to Europe's woes? "
the EU, whatever you think it is, and possibly you have a very strange idea of it, was conceived as an attempt to a solution to some problems
question is, how do you think the same countries that are in this club would be without the EU? more or less open?
remember that when it started, the UK was out of it. and there was a lot of discussion about keeping the UK out of it
meanwhile, both the US and the UK were - and still are - clamoring continuosly about us continentals having to "open up" more
even in our days, the Obama administration recently told the Cameron cabinet that the whole interest in the UK was based on keeping the UK as a gateway to the continent
if you belong to those in ZH that see globalism as the enemy, remember that London is practically the headquarters of globalism, followed by Washington
the EU is still hated by those who would like to introduce all kinds of GMO foods in the EU. it's still hated by those who would like our standards of safety diminuish
in short, for some people, the EU is an oyster that needs to be opened. the only question is if the EU org is supposed to be the tool to open it or the tool to keep is somehow closed, and the UK the tool to make sure of that or not. see TTIP
meanwhile, Turkey is promising to keep them in and the EU is promising to do something about the possible accession of Turkey to the EU. note the emphasis. that's Old World diplomacy
"question is, how do you think the same countries that are in this club would be without the EU? more or less open?"
Less open, and if they were less open we wouldn't be getting invaded at the moment.
"clamoring continuosly about us continentals having to "open up" more"
There you go again with your "continental Europen" master race nonsense. There is no Continental European culture, as that encapsulates everyone from Moscow to Portugal. GTFO with such nonsense.
"if you belong to those in ZH that see globalism as the enemy, remember that London is practically the headquarters of globalism, followed by Washington."
Globalism is the enemy when globalism means the destruction of Northern European culture all over the world.
"the EU is still hated by those who would like to introduce all kinds of GMO foods in the EU. it's still hated by those who would like our standards of safety diminuish"
Its also hated by people like me who have no problem with high safety standards and banning GMO crops. Death to the European Union & watch things improve here.
"meanwhile, Turkey is promising to keep them in and the EU is promising to do something about the possible accession of Turkey to the EU. note the emphasis. that's Old World diplomacy"
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-turkey-idUSKCN...
You are like a drug dealer consuming his own product.
The EU is part of the Kalergi-Coudenhove plan to destroy Europe as a continent of various nations with unique languages, ethnicities, and cultures, thus wiping out identity. For some reason true believers like Ghordius refuse to accept this. The academic brainwashing must have been intense.
The EU concept was put together a long time ago. One of the architects was Max Warburg who liked Kalergi-Coudenhove's plan. MWarburg was the traitorous spy chief for Germany during WW1. His good friend was William Wiseman, the traitorous spy chief for Britain. As soon as the ink dried on the final treaties, Wiseman went to work in Warburg's bank. Just like that.
The EU was meant to destroy Europe and make it more manageable for the NWO, but to do so meant first the destruction of national identity, which is what we are looking at now.
"The EU was meant to destroy Europe and make it more manageable for the NWO, but to do so meant first the destruction of national identity, which is what we are looking at now."
Not quite so. Step one in the deconstruction of Europe was the destruction of traditional values and cultural traditions of Europeans. This was achieved through pushing the agendas of social liberalism and individualism, which were put on a pedestal as the highest achievements that a human being can strive for, completely disregarding the social nature of humans. Once you've destroyed family ties and social bonds, the rest is easy to accomplish...
"Those that don't know where they're coming from don't know where they're going either." - old Macedonian proverb
Hence the Empire's hate against "reactionary" orthodox societies where new social constructs are repeatedly rejected. Have the people of Europe clinged to their old values, this whole immigration thing would've been a non-issue, because it would've been the MENA refugees that would become European converts instead of the opposite. It's called cultural conquest.
Agree 100% but implicit in my comment is that cultural values and identity are intertwined. Hungary became the 2nd nation to be infested with Bolsheviks who set about the violent destruction of the family bonds and cultural life you describe. The ringleader was Bela Kun who hated Hungary and sought to turn it into a Bolshevik wasteland. His reign of terror lasted 133 days but in that time he altered Hungarian culture and history forever.
In the end, the Romanian army drove them from power but the destruction was so pervasive that Hungary was never the same. These liberal progressives are nothing short of deadly plagues.
For his part, Kun returned to his ilk in Moscow who were by that time murdering Russians. He was said to have been transferred to Crimea to preside over the executions/murders of counterrevolutionaries.
In the end he even pestered Moscow's commies to the point that they whacked him.
The Hungarians rebelled the most vigorous against Bolsheviks compared to other countries behind the Iron Curtain. Remember the revolts in 1956. In fact, it was actually a pogrom since most of the AVS officers were not ethnic Hungarians but Jews. Then president, Matyas Rakosi was himself a Jew. Rakosi's paternal grandfather participated in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, as a result he had to flee the village following the defeat. Rakosi's father, Joszef Rosenfeld was called "Kossuth's Jew" by the villagers, because he had been a member and avid supporter of the oppositionist Party of Independence and '48. He changed his surname Rosenfeld to Rakosi in 1903.
I think is time for the European peoples to make the connections between apparently disparate events like French Revolution, Russian Revolution, the two world wars, 1989 revolutions, EU and the Third World Invasion of our homelands. The Jewish question remains the most ardent problem of our time.
double post
Could you write that out in Macedonian, brate?
I am from a neighboring country, thanks 8)
"The EU is part of the Kalergi-Coudenhove plan to destroy Europe as a continent of various nations with unique languages, ethnicities, and cultures, thus wiping out identity. For some reason true believers like Ghordius refuse to accept this. The academic brainwashing must have been intense."
you mean that our unique languages, ethnicicies and cultures aren't under attack by a certain global culture? in the 50's, the youth started to wear blue jeans, hear music from the Beatles and later groups and watch movies from Hollywood. since then, most learn English as a second language
isn't that all cultural imports? you yourself go all "brainwashing" when I use the term "continental". explain a bit from where your opinion comes from. or why I am supposed to be a "true believer"
Ghordius, bless his heart, suffers from a Peter Pan complex.
"If you only BELIEVE hard enough, you can fly."
and you don't understand that oysters, closed or not, have little to do with flying
"There you go again with your "continental European" master race nonsense. There is no Continental European culture, as that encapsulates everyone from Moscow to Portugal. GTFO with such nonsense."
"continental" has an old meaning. it meant, most of the times, European but not English/British. the use of the word continental was meant as a poke in the eyes of the Brits
but the word itself might or might not have an English origin, by their own acknowledgement (and even pride) of being different from the commonalities of the other european cultures
hence George Washington led the Continental Army against the Brits, and the first navy of the US was the Continental Navy (all aided by the French)
Marilyn Monroe once sung "A kiss on the hand might be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl's best friend", a small hint at non-English but common continental customs
Vladimir Putin speaks in terms of "From Lisbon to Vladivostock", varying from terms of the continent or "Greater Europe" or EurAsia depending on the theme and scope
also of interest: there is an acknowledged Continental_philosophy, which was somewhat opposed to the Analytic_philosophy "...that became dominant in English-speaking countries during the 20th century. In the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Scandinavia..."
seen in modern times, I think it is absolutely valid to use the word continental. there are, in many ways, two kinds of europeans: those who speak English as a first/native language - and so often stay monoglot - and those who don't, and so often have to be polyglot. but the difference between "special" England and "common" europeanness is there, and widely acknowledged
see Continental_Europe: "..the adjective continental refers to the social practices or fashion of continental Europe as opposed to those of Britain. Examples include breakfast, topless sunbathing... Continental Europe, when compared to Britain, has numerous defined differences both cultural and tangible. The use of civil law rather than common law..."
The brainwashing is complete.
did it hurt? I could question why you expose yourself to brainwashing, but hey, you are free, aren't you?
I upvoted most of your posts Ghordius, because of the reasonable and smart, historically accurate remarks. I - as a Portuguese - are by far a "Europe lover", but do understand your reasoning and I am open to learn something new. I also upvoted you, because I am sick and tired of the fascist rhetoric on this board, that goes like "OMFG, GUNS, GOLD,...bring war...brown people are dirty..."
I could sum up most of Houses posts like this. Guns & violence and "Heil Hitler" as solution to the worlds problems. They will never win. NEVER. EVER. Fascism - as seen in the 30s and 40s - will never rise again in Europe. No matter what. There are too many people, that will go against it. Especially in times of connectivity.
Let the down voting begin. SO LONG SUCKERS. Hold on to your Gold. It will be worthless.
"Less open, and if they were less open we wouldn't be getting invaded at the moment"
completely illogical answer, in my view. by mentioning "invaded", you make clear that you are talking about people, not goods or services or funds
Sweden did not depend on the EU in any way on it's national decision to accept refugees. nor did it when it closed recently it's borders to them
Denmark was criticising Sweden as a "wannabe humanitarian superpower" and did nothing like that
Germany? well, Angela Merkel is criticized for opening Germany's borders to further refugees. that's national borders, by national leaders
at what point did ZH become the pit where logic is shunned? what has the frigging EU to do with all that, exactly?
Look Ghrodius, I'm particularly referring to the Eurocrats such as Juncker, Merkel, Schultz etc and other PC politicians who are flooding the continent with the wrong people. They are the face of the EU. They are the same American lapdogs who want sanctions on Russia. The ones who are shoving austerity in southern Europe. The ones who pressured Bulgaria to cancel Southstream because they can't stand up to their American masters. Now they are opening the doors wide to Arabs and other subspecies that know nothing else other than violence.
If that's not doing Europe a huge disservice, I don't know what is.
The whole purpose of this purposefully engineered mass transfer of unassimilable millions is to destroy historical European identity. What will happen to those same pawns upon completion of their job is another question.
Note that Merkel is a national leader that opened the German, i.e. the national borders entrusted to her care as Chancellor. Meanwhile, Sweden has closed theirs
Russia? Sanctions? They don't really bother the Russian gov. Excellent pretext for their own semi-autarkic policies. Starting with agriculture
another, less diplomatic way of saying the same is this: the Erdogan admin opened their usually closed borders for exit for refugees from Syria and other countries. watched how several countries failed to stem the flow all the way to the north, of course while the usual chatter of the inanities gave a choir to this drama... and asked: "do I have to keep them in?"
the answer was: "yes, please, do that"
since it is seen as a common problem, the EU, having a common kitty feeded by contributions of the sovereign members, coughed up three cool billions to Turkey
you may be excused if you see that as a kind of bribe. meanwhile, the diplo chatter that went with it soothes the Turkish economy
Tell me....is the EU actually serious about giving Turkey the freedom of travel within its borders in exchange for the lip serivce of cracking down on illegal migration?
I can see where this is going to go. Turkey, like all typcial mooslim countries, will take Europe for a ride. They will take the bribe and demand more freedom to work and travel to Europe. And along with that a silent invasion by jihadists will be complete.
What good is bribing Turkey in the short run to only have it overrun Europe in the longer run?
from Merkel's lips, a few years ago, paraphrased: "No Way"
Turkey is content with the promise of possible membership
continental conservatives are content with the strings that are attached to it, all impossible
the engagement with this bride is active, the brideprice impossibly high
Erdogan's Anatolian entrepreneurs continue to support him and this engagement
Washington looks unhappy on all this, then it would have preferred to tie US support to EU access to more influence on NATO partner Turkey. But hey, we can't all bend backwards for Uncle Sam ALL the time
Globalism is exactly the enemy because it has no mandate from a perspective of voluntary association or natural rights; it is being coerced on millions and millions of people, causing them much agony and damage, all in the name of outdated enlightenment era ideals, to suit an insulated elite. It's modus operandi is centralized banking. It is an abomination.
the EU [...] was conceived as an attempt to a solution to some problems
Uh yeah, right.
How come you don't make any notion about how much it has succeeded or failed on that attempt so far?
"
Is question rhetorical?
That role to Europe currently played by good neighbour and 'partner' across Atlantic. This since 70 years and not yet by most realised.
We are constantly told we must be tolerant, but how long did they expect their behaviour to be tolerated.....
http://beforeitsnews.com/global-unrest/2016/01/the-lion-is-it-time-to-fi...
You again. How long you expect spam behaviour to be tolerated?
Of course it was stupid to assume that you have any other thoughts that you are able to formulate.
Reports are that the majority of the dead are Germans.
Muzzies raping folks in Germany, Muzzies killing Germans abroad. Thanks, Merkel. Job well done.
My last month paycheck was for 11000 dollars... All i did was simple online work from comfort at home for 3-4 hours/day that I got from this agency I discovered over the internet and they paid me for it 95 bucks every hour... Try it yourself... www.wallstreet34.com
double post
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/clinton-calls-on-white-house-to-s...
Coming soon to a Fiesta! near you:
https://img1.etsystatic.com/062/1/9168559/il_570xN.773976739_q375.jpg
Whoa, blasphemy! (And I ain't even Catholic!)
I want one.
A wreath of plastic roses and it'll look great with my Velvet Jesus.
who's laughing now?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZL3ofreuQo