BACKGROUND Major terrorist attacks in Turkey since 2015

A fresh wave of unrest hit Turkey in the middle of 2015. There have been a number of major attacks since then.August 18, 2016: Five soldiers, four policemen and two civilians are killed in three car bomb attacks aimed at the Turkish army and police in Elazig and Van provinces. More than 200 people are injured. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim blames the banned Kurdish Workers Party PKK for the attacks on police.June 28, 2016: Three suicide bombers blow themselves up at Kemal Ataturk airport in Istanbul. 45 people are killed and some 240 injured. The Turkish government believes Islamic State is behind the attack.June 2016: A car bomb kills twelve people in central Istanbul in an attack for which The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a splinter group, claim responsibility.March 2016: A suicide bomber blows himself up in Istanbul‘s central shopping district, killing four people and injuring 39 others. Three of those killed are from Israel. According to the Turkish government, the attacker had links to Islamic State. The group does not take credit for the attack, however.March 2016: 37 people are killed in a car bombing in Ankara. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) claim responsibility.February 2016: 30 people, including the suicide bomber, die in an attack on a military convoy in Ankara. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) also claim responsibility, the government blames the PKK.January 2016: Twelve Germans are killed in an attack on the historic centre of Istanbul near the Hagia Sophia mosque. According to the Turkish government the suicide bomber was a member of Islamic State.October 10, 2015: More than 100 people were killed in twin suicide bombings on a pro-Kurdish peace rally in the capital Ankara that was protesting unrest between state security forces and Kurdish militants in the south-east. It was the worst attack in modern Turkish history. Islamic State was blamed.July 20, 2015: A suicide bomber targeted a pro-Kurdish gathering in Suruc, near the Syrian border, killing some 33 people. Islamic State was blamed.