The twin deadly blasts in the Turkish largest city of Istanbul have been making Turkish people determine to fight against terrorism.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Monday reaffirmed his country 's determination to fight against terrorism, saying that terrorism would never daunt Turkey which would counter it with determination till the very end, adding that Turkey and all Turkish people would continue to condemn terrorism harshly.
"These incidents will strengthen our national solidarity," Gul said, referring to two bomb attacks in Istanbul late Sunday.
Following the bombing of the Turkish jets on 12 targets of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in Qandil region in northern Iraq early Sunday, the two bombs exploded minutes apart in one of Istanbul's busiest districts on Sunday night, leaving 17 people dead and over 150 others injured, including seven people in serious conditions.
Turkish private NTV television quoted Sedat Laciner of the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization as saying on Monday, "the PKK seems to be the most likely instigator, if you look at the type of explosives and the bomb mechanism used."
After Istanbul was hit by the twin blasts, the Governor of the city Muammer Guler said that "It is certain that this is a terror attack," adding "the bombs were placed in rubbish bins. It was not a suicide bombing."
Turkey has conducted frequent air raids on suspected positions of the PKK in northern Iraq. In February, it launched an eight-day ground incursion into Iraq.
The PKK, listed by the United States and Turkey as a terrorist group, took up arms in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey. About 40,000 people have been killed in the over-two-decade conflict.
