Five killed, 36 injured in suicide attack in central Istanbul

Five people were killed and 36 others were injured in a suicide bomb attack on March 19 in central Istanbul, on the busy ?stiklal Avenue in Taksim.

Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Müezzino?lu said 36 people, including 12 foreign nationals and a child, were injured, and seven of the victims in hospitals were in critical condition.

"We as a nation are unfortunately now face to face with a situation of unlimited, immeasurable acts that are inhumane, defy human values and are treacherous," Müezzino?lu said. 

In a later statement, the Health Ministry said six Israeli, one German, one Icelander, one Iranian, two Irish citizens and one Dubaian were receiving treatment at hospitals. 

Do?an News Agency reported that a woman, who was injured in the attack and died at the hospital, was an Israeli citizen.

Israel's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed Israeli citizens were injured, but could not confirm the number of Israelis harmed nor what condition they were in.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on part of ?stiklal Avenue, a long pedestrian street lined with global shops and foreign consulates, a few hundred meters from an area where police buses are often parked. 

Two Turkish officials told Reuters evidence suggested the attacker was likely from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

One of the officials said the bomber had planned to hit a more crowded spot. 

"The attacker detonated the bomb before reaching the targeted point because they were scared of the police," the official said, declining to be named because the investigation is ongoing. 

The pedestrian street was completely sealed...