June 2016 Istanbul bombing

June 2016 Istanbul bombing
Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
Location	Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey
Date	7 June 2016 08:40 (UTC+3)
Attack type	Suicide bombing
Deaths	13 (6 police officers 6 civilians, 1 perpetrator)
Non-fatal injuries	51
Perpetrators	Kurdistan Freedom Hawks

On 7 June 2016, at around 08:40 (UTC+3), a bombing occurred in central Istanbul, Turkey, killing 12 people and injuring 51 others, three of them seriously. The attack targeted a bus carrying policemen as the vehicle passed through the Vezneciler district near the Şehzade Mosque and the Vezneciler Metro station.

Istanbul had already been hit by two deadly bombings in January and March 2016, both of which had been claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Turkey was on high alert due to repeated bombings; two other attacks in Ankara in February and March that killed dozens were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), described as a "radical splinter group of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)".

The attack targeted Çevik Kuvvet police forces that were changing guard in front of the Faculty of Sciences and Literature of Istanbul University. The attack occurred on the Şehzadebaşı Avenue, in front of a hotel between the Vezneciler bus station and a police station. The site was also close to the Beyazıt Square, a major tourist attraction. The bombing occurred at the morning rush hour. The bomb was reportedly remotely detonated. An eyewitness reported that a car exploded, but whether the bomb-laden car was moving or was parked at the time of the explosion was reportedly under investigation.

The force of the bombing overturned the police bus, damaged other nearby vehicles and heavily damaged the entrance of the hotel. A dorm that was close by to the site of the explosion was damaged by the bombing, with the fragments of the bomb shattering the windows and entering the students' rooms. Damage and shattered windows were reported over a wide area, including at the 16th-century Şehzade Mosque.