At least 11 people have been killed in a car bomb attack targeting a police vehicle in central Istanbul, the latest in a series of terror attacks in Turkey.

The explosion occurred at a busy intersection in the Vezneciler district during morning rush-hour, near Istanbul University and the Grand Bazaar, a popular tourist attraction in the historic Sultanahmet district.

The Istanbul governor, Vasip Şahin, said a parked car packed with explosives was detonated by remote control the moment a bus carrying riot police personnel passed by.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest President Erdoğan speaks with a wounded man at a hospital in Istanbul on Tuesday. Photograph: AP

Seven of those killed were police officers, he said, and three of the 36 injured remained in a critical condition.



The explosion destroyed the police bus, damaged nearby cars and buildings, and blew out windows on shops and hotels more than 50 metres (164ft) from the blast site.



“The explosion catapulted me out of bed,” said a 22-year-old man who worked in a nearby restaurant. “It was massive. I also heard the sounds of gunshots right afterwards. When I went out to look it was an awful scene. People were sprawled on the ground, many had lost limbs, there was blood everywhere.”

Turkey has been on a high security alert after two deadly attacks in Istanbul this year blamed on Islamic State jihadis, and twin attacks in Ankara that killed dozens and were claimed by Kurdish militants.



There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday’s blast, and Turkish authorities issued a broadcast ban on the attack. Hours after the explosion, police detained four people for questioning for their possible involvement, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The suspects were taken to Istanbul’s main police headquarters, the report said, without providing further details.

hONoUR (@Jakoben1789) More: footage coming from the explosion area where a parked vehicle detonated during police vehicle passing #Turkeypic.twitter.com/G5gePk8l50

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, hinted at the involvement of armed Kurdish militants. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, a radical offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), claimed both Ankara attacks this year. The PKK has been targeting police and military since last July, when the collapse of a ceasefire between the Kurdish militants and the Turkish government brought to an end a fledgling peace process.



An umbrella seller said it was the third time he had barely escaped a terror attack over the past year. “I survived two bomb attacks in Ankara, and now this,” he said, pointing to a broken umbrella. “The blast ripped it from my hand, I was left with only the handle. A building between me and the bomb protected me. So many people are dying. It’s terrible, it needs to stop.”

In side streets around the blast site, shopkeepers swept up broken glass and shared footage with each other on their mobile phones.

“We are still in shock, I still cannot believe it,” said Recep, 51, a municipal official who works in an office near the blast site. “Of course we are scared, how couldn’t we be?”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The remains of a car used in the blast is removed from the explosion site. Photograph: AP

Erdoğan vowed that Turkey would continue its fight against terrorism, telling reporters: “The differentiation that the terrorist organisation makes between civilians, soldiers and police officers is meaningless. In the end these [attacks] target human beings [whose] duty it is to protect the people of this country. These attacks cannot be pardoned or forgiven. We will keep fighting tirelessly against those terrorists until the end. We are devastated, but there is a price to pay for everything.”

The foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, also condemned the bombing. “[These attackers] are cold-heartedly exploding bombs on a day of Ramadan,” he said in a Turkish television interview after the attack.



Business owners in Vezneciler said they were worried about the impact the attack would have on their work and income.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest A man removes shards of glass from his shop after the windows were blown out. Photograph: AFP/Getty

“Tourism has already gone down over the past months,” said Zeki, 33, working with a local hotel. “Since the downing of the [Russian fighter jet last year], the numbers of visitors have gone down, but these bomb attacks make it worse every time. But Turkey is a strong country, we will not let outside powers weaken us.”



Some local shopkeepers expressed discontent. “We are used to these explosion now, they made us get used to them,” said one 60-year-old owner of a textile business, motioning at the cracked windows of his shop. “Our government isn’t interested in our safety, they’re interested in how many children a woman should have.”

The tourism sector in Turkey has been in freefall over deteriorating relations with former allies such as Russia, from where a large number of visitors used to visit.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Turkish police officers inspect scene of the attack. Photograph: AFP/Getty

In addition to the ongoing conflicts in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, violence in the predominantly Kurdish south-east of the country has surged in recent months, leading to yet more fears about possible terrorist attacks.

One result is that tourists, one major source of income for Turkey, have stayed away. According to the Turkish tourism ministry, the proportion of visitors in April was 28% lower than in the same month last year.

