is very close to the site of the bombing and its windows were shattered by the force of the blast. The attack targeted
Çevik Kuvvet police forces that were changing guard in front of the Faculty of Sciences and Literature of
Istanbul University. The attack occurred on the Şehzadebaşı Avenue, in front of a hotel between the Vezneciler bus station and a police station. The site was also close to the
Beyazıt Square, a major tourist attraction. The bombing occurred at the morning rush hour. The bomb was reportedly remotely detonated. An eyewitness reported that a car exploded, but whether the bomb-laden car was moving or was parked at the time of the explosion was reportedly under investigation. A dorm that was close by to the site of the explosion was damaged by the bombing, with the fragments of the bomb shattering the windows and entering the students' rooms. Damage and shattered windows were reported over a wide area, including at the 16th-century
Şehzade Mosque.
Perpetrator No organization immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Initial assessments by Mete Yarar, a security analyst, stated that three organizations active in Turkey, the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), ISIL or
Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C) could all be responsible for the blast. Cevat Öneş, former Assistant Undersecretary of the
National Intelligence Organization, stated that there was a high probability that the PKK was responsible for the attack, though the chances of the perpetrator being ISIL should not be disregarded. The assailant was announced by TAK as Eylem Yaşa, codenamed "Eylem Nawroz", who had joined TAK in 2011 and was 32 years old at the time of the bombing. She was from
Diyarbakır but had spent most of her life in
Antalya and was part of the "Brigade of the Immortal" of TAK. == Reactions ==