Police examine Istanbul blast scene

Forensic teams are examining the scene of a deadly double bomb blast in Istanbul.At least 16 people were killed in the explosions on Turkey's largest city.Around 150 more were injured when the blasts ripped through a busy shopping district.City governor Muammer Guler called it a "terror attack" but officials did not blame any specific group and no one immediately claimed responsibility."Our men are doing their best to find out who did this, and the criminal department is searching the area to find out what kind of explosives were used," he said.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul strongly condemned the bombings.The attack was the country's worst since November 20, 2003 when al-Qaida linked suicide bombings struck the British consulate and a British bank, killing at 30 people.Ambulances were seen frantically carting the badly wounded to hospital after the explosions at two different sites.The victims were killed by the second explosion after a small blast in a telephone kiosk brought people out onto the street.Abdullah Toker, a manager at Gungoren Kolon Hospital, said: "We received nearly 30 very heavily wounded people."Several groups, including Kurdish separatists, far-left groups and Islamists, have carried out bomb attacks in Istanbul in the past.The blasts came two weeks after Turkish security forces killed two rebels of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), who were caught trying to plant a bomb in the eastern province of Tunceli.

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ITN | July 28, 2008