Reuters reports:
A suicide bombing in Istanbul on Saturday killed two Israeli citizens, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said a third Israeli citizen may have been killed in the blast. He said Israel was trying to determine whether Israelis were targeted, but there was no indication that was the case so far.
The Israelis are part of a 14-member tour group, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced. The Israeli consulate in Ankara has been in touch with the wounded, who are being treated at five separate hospitals, according to Haaretz.
The Jerusalem Post reports:
Two Israelis killed in a suicide bombing in Istanbul on Saturday were dual nationals, holding U.S. citizenship as well, an Israeli official said on Saturday.
The Washington Post cites U.S. officials saying two Americans were killed in the blast. There are conflicting news media reports about whether the two American citizens confirmed dead by the U.S. were the same fatalities as the dual U.S.-Israeli citizens confirmed killed by Israel.
USA Today reports that aside from the two U.S. citizens, “two Israelis, one Iranian citizen and the bomber were also killed.”
The Times of Israel, however, reports the two American fatalities confirmed by the U.S. are the dual Israeli-U.S. citizens also confirmed by Israel.
Earlier, Reuters provided the following details:
A suicide bomber killed himself and four others in a central Istanbul shopping and tourism district on Saturday, wounding at least 36 people in the fourth such attack in Turkey this year.
The blast sent panicked shoppers scurrying into side alleys off Istiklal Street, a long pedestrian avenue lined with international stores and foreign consulates, a few hundred meters from where police buses are often stationed…
…There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, which two senior officials said could have been carried out by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), fighting for Kurdish autonomy in the southeast, or by an Islamic State militant.
Both groups have targeted Turkey in recent months. A PKK offshoot claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings in the capital Ankara over the past month, which killed a total of 66 people. Islamic State was blamed for a suicide bombing in Istanbul in January which killed at least 12 German tourists.
A graphic CCTV video was published by the Dogan news agency showing what appears to the the moment the suicide bomber detonated his explosives, sending passers-by scurrying for cover.
Ynet has more details of the bombing:
Turkish officials said that evidence suggests that the bomber may have come from Islamic State or the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). According to the official, the suicide bomber planned to detonate in another crowded spot, but became anxious upon seeing police and triggered the bomb.
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.
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