Several Wounded in Istanbul Bombing

By The Media Line News Agency

At least 10 people were wounded when a bomb hidden inside a package exploded at the entrance of a building belonging to Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Istanbul on Monday, local newspapers reported.

Four of the victims are reported to be in serious condition. Two of the wounded are police officers and the rest are party workers.

Turkish prime minister and leader of the AK Party Recep, Tayyip Erdogan, condemned the attack during a press conference in the Turkish capital Ankara, and said that no gains could be made from terrorism.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. While Turkey is no stranger to political violence, this is the first such incident in a long time. Previously, attacks have usually been carried out against the country's armed forces by Kurdish separatists fighting for an independent Kurdish state in eastern Turkey.

"This is an election period and we have tensions already," said former chief columnist of the Turkish Daily News, Yousuf Kanli. "Of course it's the work of some extremist radical or extremist element but are they Kurdish separatists or are they urban guerillas? I have no idea at the moment and I think it's inappropriate to speculate further before the police come up with some concrete evidence."

In October 2008, a trial began against 86 offenders charged with conspiring to overthrow the AK Party government. The defendants, among them former army officers, a best-selling author and an ultra-nationalist lawyer, are accused of being part of a nationalist network called Ergenekon, which aims to preserve the secular nature of Turkey.

Since the rise of the AK Party, which has its roots in Islam, in recent years there has been a growing fear among Turkey's secularists, chiefly the army, that the secular nature of the country is being threatened.

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