Iranian envoy condemns terrorist blast in Istanbul

Ankara, Dec 11, IRNA – Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Mohammad-Ebrahim Taherian-Fard here on Sunday condemned terrorist blast in Istanbul which claimed lives of 29 people. Expressing condolences to the Turkish government and people over the sad tragedy, Taherian-Fard expressed sympathy with victims' families, Turkish government and people and wished immediate recovery for the wounded. At least 166 others were also wounded in two blasts near the Vodafone Arena, home to the Besiktas football team. Citing terrorism and extremism to be the two sides of the same coin, he added the Istanbul blast has once again revealed the necessity of forging solidarity and cooperation in the international community to combat this scourge. According to the Turkish Ministry of Interior, one of the blasts which was a suicide attack taking place only one hour after a soccer match between two leading Turkish teams targeted a bus carrying anti-riot police forces stationed nearby. However, it said, there is no information about the terrorist group which is behind the attack. 1378/IRNA