At least 38 people were killed and over 160 wounded after twin blasts which targeted police officers struck outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday, officials said.

At least 27 of the 29 killed were officers, Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said, adding that the two-pronged attack saw a car bomb detonated remotely, followed by a suicide attack less than a minute later.

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Police have arrested at least 10 in connection to the attack.

"A terrorist attack has been carried out against our security forces and our citizens. It has been understood that the explosions after the Besiktas-Bursaspor football game aimed to maximize casualties. As a result of these attacks unfortunately we have martyrs and wounded," Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement.

The suspected suicide bomber struck in Macka park, next to the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul's Besiktas soccer team, while the second explosion hit directly outside the stadium, Soylu said, describing the attack as a "cruel plot".

The blast hit outside Vodafone Stadium, about two hours after a soccer match between two of Turkey's top teams.

The Turkish government has imposed a broadcast ban in the country on Saturday night, state-run news agency Anadolu reported.

Like hell

Two witnesses told Reuters they had heard two blasts outside the Vodafone Arena, which lies on the edge of the Bosphorus in central Istanbul and is home to the Besiktas soccer team. A Reuters photographer said many riot police officers were seriously wounded.

"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 Yilmiz, who works as a cleaner at the nearby Dolmabahce mosque.

Open gallery view Police arrive at the site of an explosion in central Istanbul, Turkey, December 10, 2016. Credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS

Open gallery view Police and ambulances arrive at the site of an explosion in central Istanbul, Turkey, December 10, 2016. Credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS

Open gallery view Police arrive at the site of an explosion in central Istanbul, Turkey, December 10, 2016. Credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS

Open gallery view Turkish policemen at the site of an explosion in central Istanbul, Turkey, December 10, 2016. Credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS

Open gallery view Police arrive at the site of an explosion in central Istanbul, Turkey, December 10, 2016. Credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS

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

Armed police sealed off streets around the stadium. A police water cannon doused the wreckage of a burned out car and there were two separate fires on the road outside the building.

Turkey has been hit by a series of bombings in recent years, some blamed on Islamic State militants, others claimed by Kurdish and far-leftist militant groups.

In June, some 43 people were killed and 239 others were wounded in an attack by three suicide bombers on the international terminal of Istanbul's Ataturk airport. Turkish officials suggested that the Islamic State group was behind the attack.

In March, three Israelis and an Iranian national were killed in a suicide attack in a central Istanbul shopping and tourism district. At least 36 people were wounded.