According to the Turkish Milliyet newspaper, two police officers injured in the bombing died in a hospital, while the number of those wounded exceeded 50.
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The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has also been blamed for a series of deadly bombings in Turkey, which is part of the US-led coalition bombing its positions.
TVC NEWS A auto bomb ripped through a police bus in central Istanbul during the morning rush hour on Tuesday, killing 11 people and wounding 36 near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor’s office.
“As of now, the sale of fertilizers containing nitrate that are used for explosives has been frozen in Turkey”, Agriculture Minister Faruk Celik said in an interview on state television.
Mr Celik said security officials have seized 64,000 tons of fertiliser from retailers. The US and European Union classify the group as a terrorist organisation.
Reports said the explosion took place close to the Vezeciler metro station, which is within walking distance of some of the main sights of the historical centre including the Suleymaniye Mosque. Violence has spiralled since a ceasefire with the PKK collapsed nearly a year ago.
President Tayyip Erdogan vowed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member’s fight against terrorism would go on, describing the attack on officers whose jobs were to protect others as “unforgivable”. Since then the group has narrowed its demands to greater autonomy and cultural rights.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed that the fight against the PKK will continue “until doomsday”.
Two police officers who were killed when the blast hit a police vehicle were laid to rest at a ceremony in the city.
Nefize Ozsoy, meanwhile, was a mother of a four-month-old daughter.
Hundreds attended funeral ceremonies for the victims in Midyat, with their coffins borne aloft through the crowds along with Turkish flags.
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The attack targeted a police bus traveling through the bustling Beyazit neighborhood of Istanbul’s historic Fatih district during morning rush hour.
