ISTANBUL – The United States has warned its citizens about “credible threats” to tourist areas in Turkey, particularly in Istanbul and the southwest coastal resort of Antalya.

Turkey has been hit by four suicide bombings already this year, the most recent one last month in Istanbul.

Two of those have been blamed on Islamic State, while Kurdish militants have claimed responsibility for the other two.

An emergency message posted on the US Consulate Website on Saturday warns its citizens to exercise “extreme caution” in the vicinity of those areas.

“The US Mission in Turkey would like to inform US citizens that there are credible threats to tourist areas, in particular to public squares and docks in Istanbul and Antalya,” it said in the statement.

Last month’s attack in Istanbul’s main shopping district killed three Israelis, two of whom held dual citizenship with the United States, and one Iranian.

A number of Irish people were also caught up in the attack.

A separate attack in the city’s historic heart in January killed 12 German tourists.

Turkey is facing multiple security threats. As part of a US-led coalition, it is fighting Islamic State in neighbouring Syria and Iraq. It is also battling Kurdish militants in its southeast, where a two-and-a-half year ceasefire collapsed last July, triggering the worst violence since the 1990s.

– with other agencies