Istanbul bombing

Istanbul is set to mark May 1, International Workers' Day, in a different venue than the contested and symbolic Taksim Square due to security concerns, with this year's celebrations to be held in the Bak?rköy bazaar area amid tight security measures.

Thousands of Istanbul locals spent hours in traffic early on April 8 after a suspicious gas tube tied to banner that was left on a roadside in Istanbul's Okmeydan? neighborhood alarmed police.

The highway, one of the two main roads in Turkey's most crowded city, was shut down as a precaution, and bomb disposal experts were dispatched to the scene.

The death toll of a car bomb attack that targeted police carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r on March 31 has risen to eight after a deputy police chief succumbed to his injuries at a hospital on April 5.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu vowed to step up the fight against terrorism after the latest terrorist attack which occurred in central Ankara on Wednesday evening.

At least 28 people were killed and 61 other injured as an explosion, most probably caused by a car bomb, targeted military-owned vehicles waiting at a traffic light.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pointed to Islamic State (IS) as the prime suspect for the twin suicide bombings near the central railway station of Ankara on Saturday.

The attack targeted the participants in a peace rally protesting the escalating violence between Turkish security forces and the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).