Bombings in Turkey
In Turkey on Jan. 12, a suicide bomber targeted the popular Istanbul neighborhood of Sultanahmet, killing 10 people, including nine German tourists. The bomber was identified as a Syrian national and is believed to have been allied with the militant Islamist group Daesh (ISIL). The Sultanahmet neighborhood includes the heavily touristed sites of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.
In Turkey’s southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Jan. 14, a car bomb exploded outside police headquarters in the Çinar District, killing six people, five of whom were civilians. The bombing was blamed on the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), a political and Kurdish separatist organization.
A cease-fire between the Turkish government and the PKK ended in July 2015 after the PKK blamed the government for allowing Daesh to target PKK gatherings.
Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, to insure the safety of their passengers, have canceled ports of call in Turkey for spring and summer 2016 sailings.