2016 Bursa bombing
Part of Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
Locationnear Grand Mosque, Osmangazi, Bursa
Coordinates40°11′02″N 29°03′42″E / 40.1839°N 29.0617°E / 40.1839; 29.0617
Date27 April 2016
17:26 (UTC+3)
Attack type
Suicide bombing
Deaths1 (the perpetrator)
Injured13
PerpetratorTAK[1]
Suicide attacks in
Turkey
Aftermath of the Suruç bombing in 2015
Groups responsible
Attacks

On 27 April 2016, a suicide bombing took place in the Turkish city of Bursa.[2][3] The bombing took place at 17:26 (UTC+3), near the western entrance of the Grand Mosque and a covered market.[4][5] One person, the suicide bomber, was killed and 13 people were injured.[4] The injured people received only light injuries.[5] Extensive damage to nearby shops and cafes was reported.[3]

Bombing

The bombing occurred as a crowd that had gathered for a funeral prayer was dispersing. Those that were injured were struck by bomb fragments and broken glass. The suicide bomber was an approximately 25-year-old woman.[6] The Interior Minister, Efkan Ala announced her identity as 1992-born Eser Çali,[7] whose family lives in a small village of Iğdır Province near the Armenian border.[8] The area is one that is always crowded and tourist groups were present at the time of the bombing. Security sources speaking to T24 suggested that the bomber might have blown herself up earlier than intended.[5]

Following the bombing, the area was cleared of people by the police and Atatürk Avenue was closed off to traffic.[6] Turkish people reacted on social media by tweeting "enough is enough".[9]

The bombing came one day after a warning by the US Embassy in Turkey about "credible indications" of imminent terrorist attacks, urging American citizens to be "vigilant" in "crowded public areas and popular tourist destinations".[3] Turkey had recently been hit by a number of bombings in the months preceding the bombing, most recently the March 2016 Istanbul bombing by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the March 2016 Ankara bombing by the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot and affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

No immediate claim or official announcement with regards to the perpetrators of the attack was made.[3][10] According to Turkish daily Cumhuriyet, security forces were investigating the possibility of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant having committed the attack.[11] On May 1, TAK however claimed responsibility.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Kurdish militants claim suicide bombing in Turkey's Bursa: website". Reuters. 1 May 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Female suicide bomber wounds at least seven in Turkey's Bursa". Reuters. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "Turkey bombing in Bursa: 'Female suicide attacker' attacks near city's Grand Mosque". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Bursa Ulu Cami yakınında bombalı saldırı" (in Turkish). NTV. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Gündem Bursa'da Ulu Camii yanında canlı bomba saldırısı; 7 kişi yaralandı!" (in Turkish). T24. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Bursa'da Ulu Camii yakınında intihar saldırısı". CNN Türk. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  7. ^ Hürriyet Haber. "Efkan Ala Bursa'daki canlı saldırganın ismini açıkladı - Gündem Haberleri". Hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  8. ^ DHA. "Canlı bombanın babası: Kızım Eser kendine yazık etti - Gündem Haberleri". Hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  9. ^ "Bursa'daki canlı bomba saldırısı sosyal medyada: Yeter artık!" (in Turkish). T24. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  10. ^ "Suicide bombing near Grand Mosque of Bursa in Turkey, at least 7 wounded". CTV. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Bursa'da canlı bomba saldırısı: 1 ölü, 13 yaralı" (in Turkish). Cumhuriyet. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
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