29 dead, 166 wounded in Istanbul twin blasts

Istanbul: Twenty-nine people were killed, mainly police officers, and 166 wounded in double bombings that struck Istanbul on Saturday after a home football match hosted by top side Besiktas, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.

Twenty-seven of those killed were police and two were civilians, he told reporters in Istanbul, adding that 10 suspects had already been detained over the bombing.

The attacks were the latest in a year that has seen Istanbul and other Turkish cities rocked by a string of attacks blamed on Islamic State jihadists and Kurdish militants.

Following is a list of the worst bomb attacks in Turkey over the past three decades:

August 20: 57 people, 34 of them children, die in an IS-linked bomb attack on a Kurdish wedding in the Turkish city of Gaziantep near the Syrian border.

June 28: 47 people are killed, including foreigners, and over 200 injured in a triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul`s Ataturk airport. There is no claim of responsibility but authorities say evidence points to IS.

June 7: At least seven police officers and four civilians die when a bomb rips through a police vehicle near the historic centre of Istanbul.

The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a radical offshoot of the rebel Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK), claims the attack and warns tourists to stay away.

March 19: Three Israelis and an Iranian are killed and dozens injured in a suicide bombing targeting Istanbul shopping thoroughfare Istiklal Caddesi. Pro-government media blame IS.

March 13: 34 people are killed and dozens wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in Ankara. TAK claims the assault.

February 17: At least 29 people are killed in a suicide bombing attack targeting the Turkish military in Ankara. The attack is also claimed by TAK.

January 12: Twelve German tourists are killed and more than a dozen others wounded in a suicide attack by a Syrian bomber in Istanbul`s Sultanahmet district, the ancient tourist heart of the city and home of the Blue Mosque. The prime minister said the bomber belonged to IS.

October 10: In the bloodiest attack in Turkey`s history, 103 people are killed and more than 500 wounded in twin suicide bombings targeting a pro-Kurdish peace rally in Ankara. The prime minister says IS was the main suspect.

July 20: 34 people are killed and about 100 wounded in a suicide bombing in the predominantly Kurdish town of Suruc near the border with Syria. Turkish officials again blame IS.

May 11: A twin car bomb attack kills 52 people in the town of Reyhanli near the Syrian border. Ankara blames pro-Damascus groups.

February 11: 17 people are killed when a Syrian minibus explodes in Reyhanli.

July 27: Two bombings in Istanbul leave 17 dead and 115 wounded. Ankara blames the PKK.

September 12: 10 people, including children, are killed in a bomb blast in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

November 15 and 20: Four suicide car bomb attacks in Istanbul hit two synagogues, the British consulate and a branch of the British multinational bank HSBC, leaving 63 dead, including Britain`s consul general, and hundreds wounded.

The attacks are claimed by Al-Qaeda and a Turkish extremist group named the Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient.

March 13: 12 people are killed in a firebombing on an Istanbul shopping mall.