2015 Istanbul suicide bombing

Last updated
2015 Istanbul suicide bombing
Location Flag of Turkey.svg Sultanahmet, Fatih, Istanbul
Date6 January 2015
TargetPolice station
Attack type
Suicide bombing
Deaths2 (including the perpetrator)
Injured1
PerpetratorsAQMI Flag asymmetric.svg  Islamic State (ISIL) [1]
AssailantDiana Ramazova

On 6 January 2015, Diana Ramazova from Dagestan detonated a bomb vest at a police station in Istanbul's central Sultanahmet district, near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. The attack killed Ramazova and injured two police officers, one of whom later succumbed to his wounds. [2] [3] Ramazova was the pregnant widow of a Norwegian-Chechen ISIS fighter in Syria who had been killed in December 2014.

Contents

Attack

Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said the woman, who reportedly spoke English with "a thick accent" and was dressed in a niqab, entered the police station and told officers she had lost her wallet before detonating the bomb. [2] Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters that the bomber was carrying two other devices, which were safely defused by officers on the scene. Emergency services rushed to the blast site, while the tram line that runs through the district was temporarily suspended. [3] Besides the perpetrator only one other person died in the attack; a young police officer from Trabzon who had just became a father.

Perpetrator

Six people, including three foreigners, were detained over the attack. [4]

On January 7, the far-left armed group Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP/C) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was meant "to punish (the) murderers of Berkin Elvan" and "to call to account the fascist state that protects AKP's corrupt, stealing ministers". Berkin Elvan was a 15-year-old boy who was killed by a tear-gas canister fired by a police officer during the 2013 Istanbul protests. [3] The bombing came five days after another member of DHKP/C attacked police on guard outside the Ottoman-era Dolmabahçe Palace, hurling two grenades that failed to explode. The building houses the Istanbul offices of the Turkish prime minister.

The DHKP/C had been involved in several deadly attacks on Turkish government targets in recent years, including a 2013 suicide bombing at the US embassy in Ankara. [5]

The group also claimed that the suicide bomber was Elif Sultan Kalsen. After being called to a criminal medical center to identify the body, Kalsen's family denied the claims, stating that it was not their daughter. [6]

On January 8, 2015, the perpetrator was identified as Diana Ramazova, a Chechen-Russian citizen from Dagestan. She had married Abu Aluevitsj Edelbijev, a Norwegian citizen of Chechen origin in 2014. They spent three months in Istanbul from May to July 2014, before entering Syria. In Syria Edelbijev fought for ISIS and was killed in December. Ramazova, who was pregnant at the time, irregularly reentered Turkey shortly after his death. [7] [8] [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Turkey.

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On 12 January 2016, a suicide attack in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district killed 13 people, all foreigners, and injured 14 others. The attack occurred at 10:20 local time, near the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, an area popular among tourists. The attacker was Nabil Fadli, a Syrian member of the Islamic State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">February 2016 Ankara bombing</span> Bombing in Turkey by Kurdish separatists

The February 2016 Ankara bombing killed at least 30 people and injured 60 in the capital of Turkey. According to Turkish authorities, the attack targeted a convoy of vehicles carrying both civilian and military personnel working at the military headquarters during the evening rush hour as the vehicles were stopped at traffic lights at an intersection with İsmet İnönü Boulevard close to Kızılay neighborhood. Several ministries, the headquarters of the army and the Turkish Parliament are located in the neighbourhood where the attack occurred. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) took responsibility for the attack and said they targeted security forces. Censorship monitoring organization Turkey Blocks reported nationwide internet restrictions beginning approximately one hour after the blast pursuant to an administrative order. The attack killed 14 military personnel, 14 civilian employees of the military, and a civilian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March 2016 Istanbul bombing</span> Terrorist attack in Istanbul, Turkey

On 19 March 2016, a suicide bombing took place in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district in front of the district governor's office. The attack occurred at 10:55 (EET) at the intersection of Balo Street with İstiklal Avenue, a central shopping street. The attack caused at least five deaths, including that of the perpetrator. Thirty-six people were injured, including seven whose injuries were severe. Among those injured were twelve foreign tourists. Among those killed, three were of Israeli nationality. On 22 March, the Turkish interior minister said that the bomber had links with ISIL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Atatürk Airport attack</span> Terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Turkey

The Atatürk Airport attack, consisting of shootings and suicide bombings, occurred on 28 June 2016 at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Gunmen armed with automatic weapons and explosive belts staged a simultaneous attack at the international terminal of Terminal 2. Three attackers and forty-five other people were killed, with more than 230 people injured. Monitoring group Turkey Blocks identified widespread internet restrictions on incoming and outgoing media affecting the entire country in the aftermath of the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Istanbul suicide bombing</span> Terrorist act in Turkey

The 2012 Istanbul suicide bombing occurred at a police station in the Sultangazi district of Istanbul, Turkey. The suicide bomber was İbrahim Çuhadar, a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C). On 11 September 2012, he went to the police station and attempted to enter, then detonated the explosives at the entrance of the station after the police refused him entrance. As a result of the explosion, the attacker and a police officer died and seven others were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Istanbul Justice Palace siege</span>

On 31 March 2015, a hostage crisis occurred in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Turkey, at the Istanbul Justice Palace. The public prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz, who conducted the investigation of the Berkin Elvan case, was taken hostage by the members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C). After the incident, the building was evacuated and security measures were taken by the police. Members of the organization gave a list of requests to the police while threatening to kill the prosecutor. In the incident that lasted about nine hours, Prosecutor Kiraz was killed by DHKP-C militants. The two attackers were also killed.

References

  1. Doğan, Yusuf (29 July 2015). "Sultanahmet bombacısını İstanbul'a Abdulla Abdullayev getirmiş". Habertürk . Archived from the original on 19 August 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 "BBC News - Turkey bombing: Female suicide attacker hits Istanbul police station". BBC News. January 6, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Policeman killed in Istanbul suicide attack". Al Jazeera. January 6, 2016.
  4. "Turkey detains six over Istanbul suicide bombing". The Daily Star (Lebanon) . 13 January 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  5. "Female Istanbul suicide bomber was part of terrorist group". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN   0882-7729 . Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  6. Butler, Desmond (7 January 2015). "Leftist Group Says It Carried out Istanbul Suicide Bombing". ABC News . Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  7. Toygun Atilla (16 January 2015) Suicide bomber who attacked Istanbul police was married to Norwegian ISIL jihadist Hürriyet
  8. Letsch, Constanze (16 January 2015). "Pregnant Istanbul suicide bomber was Russian citizen". The Guardian . Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  9. "Canlı bombanın El Kaide ve IŞİD bağlantısı araştırılıyor" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  10. Aydın, Çetin (8 January 2015). "Russian citizen revealed to be suicide bomber who attacked Istanbul police". Hürriyet Daily News . Retrieved 8 January 2015.