It killed seven police officers and four civilians, and left 36 people injured, three of them critically, Istanbul Gov. Vasip Sahin told reporters.
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The explosion in the heart of Istanbul, reportedly caused earlier Tuesday by a vehicle bomb targeting a police bus, claimed the lives of at least 11 people and injured dozens more.
There was no claim for responsibility.
It is the latest of several attacks in Istanbul and Ankara this year.
During the morning peak in a major tourist district in Istanbul, a bomb was detonated remotely just as a police bus was passing by.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said the four suspects were being questioned at Istanbul’s main police headquarters. “These can not be pardoned or forgiven”, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after visiting some of the wounded, the Associated Press reported.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey’s fight against terrorists will continue to the end.
The explosion was caused by a bomb placed inside a auto and was detonated as the police vehicle was passing by, Mr Sahin said. He said the attack was unforgivable and the country will continue the fight against terrorism fearlessly. Seven police officers and four civilians were killed. The Kurdish worker’s party, or PKK, claimed responsibility for that bombing.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who assumed office last month, condemned the attackers for killing innocents during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Recent Istanbul attacks have targeted security forces and tourism sites, contributing to a sharp dip in tourism and taking a toll on the economy.
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”.
Both attacks were blamed on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, and a pair of attacks in Ankara that were claimed by Kurdish separatists and killed dozens.
The self-proclaimed Islamic State has also carried out attacks against Turkey, which is part of the United States-led coalition against I-S.
A “fragile peace process” between the PKK and the Turkish government dissolved in July, the AP notes.
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The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its allies, is fighting for autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds in the southeast.
