The Kurdish Freedom Falcons (TAK), a shadowy splinter group from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), described the bombing as revenge for the army’s operations in the southeast and told tourists not visit Turkey for their own safety.
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“We are again warning all foreign tourists who are in Turkey or wish to come to Turkey”, said the group.
The rush hour car-bomb on Tuesday morning was directed at a police vehicle in Istanbul and injured scores of people.
Seven of the fatalities in Tuesday’s Istanbul attack were said to be members of the security forces, while four civilians were also killed.
While the TAK is believed to have carried out two other deadly suicide bombings this year in Ankara, the PKK routinely attacks military and police targets in southeastern Turkey.
Thousands of militants and hundreds of security officials have since been killed and entire neighbourhoods reduced to shattered ruins. That bombing was claimed by the PKK.
Turkey has been on edge after a string of bombings this year blamed not just on Kurdish militants but also the Islamic State (ISIS).
Yildirim said last week the fighting had destroyed some 11,000 homes in five urban areas alone and the cost of rebuilding could approach 1 billion lira ($340 million) and Western allies have repeatedly urged restraint.
They said the rebels were spotted by drones in the Lice region.
One of the PKK’s top leaders based in northern Iraq, Cemil Bayik, said in comments published Friday that Erdogan was exposing Turkey to “great danger” with his policies in the southeast. The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, emphasized his commitment to continue the fight against terrorism and strongly condemned the attacks.
Separately, Turkish jets targeted and killed a group of between eight and 10 suspected PKK militants near the Iraqi border, military sources said on Friday.
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Violence flared past year between Kurdish rebels and government forces, shattering a 2013 ceasefire reached after secret talks between PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish state.
