Solved case · 2015
The short answer
An explosion in the apron area of Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport on 23 December 2015 wounded two airport cleaners, one of whom later died. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed responsibility four days later, citing Turkish military operations against the PKK as its motive.
No one's coverage is attached to this file yet.
Know great coverage of this case?
A documentary, a podcast episode, a careful long-form video. Suggest it and an editor will review it before it appears here.
Suggest coverage for 2015 Sabiha Gökçen Airport bombingOn 23 December 2015, at approximately 02:05 local time, an explosion occurred in the apron area of Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. The blast wounded two airport cleaning workers; one of them, Zeyhra Yamaç, later died in hospital from head injuries caused by the explosion. Witnesses reported hearing three successive blasts, although the cause was not immediately clear, and investigators did not rule out terrorism as a possible motive.
Turkey's Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication, Binali Yıldırım, stated that the explosion had damaged five aircraft, which were subsequently taken to hangars for repair. He also said there had been no security lapses at the airport. Despite the explosion, flights out of the terminal resumed and continued as normal.
The Daily Telegraph reported on an interview with an aviation expert who speculated that the blast had most likely been caused by a bomb rather than a mechanical fault, noting that an interior mechanical failure within a plane would be unlikely to produce an explosion large enough to damage five other aircraft nearby. The damage to those aircraft was attributed to shrapnel consistent with a bombing.
The explosion took place against a backdrop of renewed conflict between the Turkish military and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in southeastern Turkey, following the breakdown of a ceasefire and peace negotiations between the two sides in July 2015.
On 27 December 2015, four days after the attack, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), described as an urban-based offshoot of the PKK, claimed responsibility for the explosion. The group stated that the blast had resulted from a mortar bombing carried out in retaliation for the continued military operations by the Turkish Armed Forces in Kurdish-populated cities in the southeast, which TAK characterized as "fascist" operations targeting PKK militants.
An individual identified as a suspect in the attack was arrested on 28 October 2017 in Istanbul.
Ceasefire and peace negotiations between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) broke down, leading to renewed military operations in southeastern Turkey.
An explosion occurred at approximately 02:05 local time in the apron area of Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul, wounding two airport cleaning workers and damaging five aircraft.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed responsibility for the explosion, describing it as a mortar bombing in retaliation for Turkish military operations against the PKK.
The attacker was arrested in Istanbul.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Airport cleaning worker wounded in the blast; died in hospital from head injuries caused by the explosion.[3]
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
Credit: OpenStreetMap contributors, (Uploader: User:İncelemeelemani)OpenStreetMap contributorsCC BY-SA 2.0SourceSOLVEDListenReina nightclub, Ortaköy, Istanbul, Turkey · 2010s
On 1 January 2017, a gunman opened fire at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul's Ortaköy neighborhood, killing 39 people and wounding 79 others during New Year celebrations; Uzbek national Abdulkadir Masharipov was later arrested and convicted.
Credit: Maurice FlesierCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenVodafone Arena / Maçka Park, Beşiktaş, Istanbul · 2010s
On 10 December 2016, a car bomb and a suicide bombing near Istanbul's Vodafone Arena and Maçka Park killed 48 people, mostly police officers, and injured 166 others; the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed responsibility.
SOLVEDListenIstanbul, Turkey · 2000s
High school student Münevver Karabulut was murdered in Istanbul on 3 March 2009 by Cem Garipoğlu, who evaded arrest for 197 days amid intense public and political scrutiny before being convicted in 2011.
Credit: G-13114CC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenManchester Arena, Manchester, England · 2017
On 22 May 2017, Salman Abedi detonated a homemade nail bomb in the City Room foyer of Manchester Arena as concert-goers left an Ariana Grande show, killing 22 people and injuring over a thousand. His brother, Hashem Abedi, was later convicted of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy for helping build the bomb and was sentenced to life with a minimum 55-year term.
Credit: Wilson44691Public domainSourceUNSOLVEDListenHighway 12 near Eilat, southern Israel (Israel–Egypt border area) · 2011
On August 18, 2011, militants carried out a series of coordinated attacks on Highway 12 near Israel's border with Egypt, killing eight Israelis; Israeli forces killed several attackers and, in the pursuit, also killed five Egyptian soldiers, triggering a diplomatic crisis and a wave of cross-border violence with Gaza.
Sadr City and other Shia neighbourhoods, Baghdad, Iraq · 2016
On 11 May 2016, the Islamic State carried out a series of bombings in and around Shia neighbourhoods of Baghdad, Iraq, including a truck bombing in a crowded Sadr City market, killing and wounding hundreds of people, mostly civilians.
