Blasts hit near Istanbul soccer stadium, wound 20 police

Rescue services rush to the scene of explosions near the Besiktas football club stadium, following at attack in Istanbul, late Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Two loud explosions have been heard near the newly built soccer stadium and witnesses at the scene said gunfire could be heard in what appeared to have been an armed attack on police. Turkish authorities have banned distribution of images relating to the Istanbul explosions within Turkey. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) TURKEY OUT Rescue services rush to the scene of explosions near the Besiktas football club stadium, following at attack in Istanbul, late Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Two loud explosions have been heard near the newly built soccer stadium and witnesses at the scene said gunfire could be heard in what appeared to have been an armed attack on police. Turkish authorities have banned distribution of images relating to the Istanbul explosions within Turkey. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) TURKEY OUT

By Associated Press December 10, 2016 3 min read

ISTANBUL (AP) – Two explosions struck Saturday night outside a major soccer stadium in Istanbul after fans had gone home, an attack that wounded about 20 police officers, Turkish authorities said. One of the blasts was thought to be a car bomb.

Police cordoned off the area as smoke rose from behind the newly built Vodafone Arena Stadium, known colloquially as Besiktas Stadium after the local team and neighborhood. Witnesses also heard gunfire after the explosions.

The first and larger explosion took place about 10:30 p.m. after the home team Besiktas beat visitor Bursaspor 2-1 in the Turkish Super League. Officials gave no immediate details on the nature of the second explosion, which sounded like it came from the same area.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who gave the casualty toll and said the wounded were police officers, was heading from Ankara to Istanbul.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. This year Istanbul has witnessed bombings attributed by authorities to the Islamic State group or claimed by Kurdish militants.