ISTANBUL – Two explosions, one thought to have been a suicide bomb, have killed at least 15 people outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul, officials said, in an attack apparently targeting police hours after a match between two of Turkey’s top teams.

President Tayyip Erdogan described the blasts outside the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul’s Besiktas soccer team, as a terrorist attack on police and civilians. He said the aim of the bombings, shortly after the end of a match attended by thousands of people, had been to cause the maximum number of casualties.

“As a result of these attacks unfortunately we have martyrs and wounded,” Erdogan said in a statement.

“Nobody should doubt that with God’s will, we as a country and a nation will overcome terror, terrorist organisations … and the forces behind them,” he said.

A damaged vehicle is seen after the blast. (Photo: Reuters)

The attack shook a soccer-mad nation still trying to recover from a series of deadly bombings this year in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on the Islamic State jihadist group and others claimed by Kurdish militants.

A senior official, citing information from the health ministry, said 15 people were killed and 69 wounded. Three separate security sources had earlier told Reuters that at least 13 people had been killed.

“It was like hell. The flames went all the way up to the sky. I was drinking tea at the cafe next to the mosque,” said Omer Yilmaz, who works as a cleaner at the nearby Dolmabahce mosque, directly across the road from the stadium.

“People ducked under the tables, women began crying. Football fans drinking tea at the cafe sought shelter, it was horrible,” he told Reuters.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said one of the explosions hit directly outside the stadium, while the suspected suicide bomber struck in the adjacent Macka park. Earlier, he said initial indications suggested a car bomb targeting a police bus was responsible for one of the blasts.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Islamic State, Kurdish and far-leftist groups have all carried out bomb attacks in Turkey before. The NATO member is part of the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria, and is battling an insurgency by Kurdish militants in its southeast.

– Reuters