Istanbul explosion: At least four dead as tourist shopping area Istiklal Street hit by suicide bombing in Turkey (Video)

At least four people were killed and more were wounded in a suicide bombing in a major shopping and tourist district in central Istanbul on Saturday, said the governor of Istanbul.

The explosion was in Istiklal Street, a wide boulevard closed to traffic that is lined with international stores and shopping centers.
A Reuters witness in the area saw police helicopters circling overhead and television footage showed people running from the area.

The explosion comes as Turkey is on edge following two recent suicide bomb attacks in the capital, Ankara.

On Sunday, 37 people were killed and another 125 were wounded in a suicide car bombing in Ankara.

        The explosion occurred less than a month after a car bomb attack in central Ankara killed 29 people. Kurdish militants claimed responsibility for that attack.

Three of the wounded are Israeli citizens, according to the Turkish Dogan news agency.

Last Updated 21/03/2016 at 17.31pm