Suicide attack sows panic in Istanbul

Marxist suspected in blast that left 3 dead and 21 hurt

By Ben Holland, Associated Press, 9/11/2001

STANBUL - A suicide bomber set off an explosive in front of a police post yesterday, killing two policemen, injuring 21 people, and creating panic in the main square, a popular destination for tourists.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

Police identified the dead bomber as Ugur Bulbul, who was released from prison six months ago after serving time for membership in a banned Marxist group, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front.

The group is leading a yearlong hunger strike to protest prison conditions. Thirty-three people have died in the strike.

In January, the Marxist group carried out a suicide attack in a police cafeteria that killed an officer. That attack was to protest prison conditions.

Yesterday's attacker approached the police post, where officers who patrol the square gather, and detonated the bomb, according to Istanbul's governor, Erol Cakir, who said 17 of the injured were police officers.

An Australian tourist lost her arm in the blast, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said. The Anatolia news agency identified the injured Australian as 23-year-old Amanda Rigg.

The explosion took place in a side street off Istanbul's Taksim Square and 150 yards from the German Consulate. The area is filled with people waiting for buses and is home to offices and stores.

''There was a massive explosion, then suddenly there was a huge cloud of dust,'' said Asim Korkmaz, a grocer who was delivering vegetables to a restaurant about 60 yards away.

Police dragged bloody colleagues and civilians into taxis and ambulances after the blast. Firefighters also rushed to the scene while a police helicopter hovered. The windows of several nearby buildings were shattered.

Leftist militants and Kurdish rebels who fought for autonomy in southeastern Turkey, where Kurds are the overwhelming majority, have carried out several suicide attacks in Istanbul and other cities over the years.

The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front has vowed to avenge the deaths of hunger strikers who began their protest after soldiers stormed 20 prisons last year to break up wards that the government says were being run like rebel indoctrination centers.

This story ran on page A14 of the Boston Globe on 9/11/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.