History of terror attacks in Istanbul dates back to 1905

LAHORE: Though terrorism continues to shatter the calm and tranquillity of the beautiful Istanbul, it was this important economic, cultural and historical center of Turkey that had witnessed the first-ever car bomb explosion in human history, when the last Ottoman Empire King, Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918), had survived an unsuccessful assassination attempt orchestrated by the Armenian separatists on July 21, 1905.

Shortly before the 34th Ottoman Empire King was scheduled to appear in public, his departure was suddenly delayed for a minute and the bomb went off early, killing 26 and wounding 58 people.

Four of the wounded 58 had then died at hospital during life-saving treatment. Not fewer than 17 cars were also damaged completely in the process. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation had claimed the responsibility.

(References: Encyclopedia Britannica and Dale Hoiberg's book "Abdulhamid II")

Also known as Constantinople and Byzantium historically, Istanbul had hosted approximately 12.56 million foreign visitors in 2015, making the city the world's fifth most popular tourist destination after Bangkok (18.24 million tourists), Paris (16.06 million visitors) and Dubai (14.26 million visitors), according to the annual MasterCard Global Destinations Index released in June last year.

Accounting for more than a quarter of the Turkish Gross Domestic Product, Istanbul has suffered from terrorism quite a few times in recent decades.

Here is a list of some relatively recent explosions in Istanbul:

On December 23, 2015, an attack on Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen International Airport had claimed a life and had caused extensive damage to the planes.

The December 1, 2015 attack at a local Metro station had injured five people when the bomb exploded in an overpass leading to the station at the height of the evening rush hour.

On August 10, 2015, five police officers and two civilians were injured in a police station bombing.

On January 6, 2015, a female suicide bomber had detonated her vest at an Istanbul police station, killing herself and two cops on duty.

On October 31, 2010, a suicide bomber had targeted police in Taksim Square, injuring 32 people but only killing the perpetrator. A militant group, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, had later claimed responsibility.

The death toll from the July 2008 Istanbul bombings had stood at 17.

On November 15, 2003, two truck bombs had hit Istanbul’s Bet Israel and Neve Shalom Synagogues, killing 23 people and injuring 300 others.

On November 20, 2003, two suicide vehicle bombs detonated at HSBC offices at the British Consulate, killing 30 and injuring 400.

Earlier, the May 1977 Taksim Square massacre had claimed between 34 and 42 lives.

However, Turkey’s deadliest ever terrorist attack came in Ankara on October 10, 2015 when two suicide bombs had exploded near the city’s main railway station as people gathered for a pro-Kurdish peace rally.

Despite politicians’ immediate casting of suspicion on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, prosecutors later said a local ISIS cell was responsible for killing 102 people.

(References: Al-Jazeera TV and The Independent)