UN chief slams deadly terrorist attacks in Istanbul

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday condemned deadly terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Turkey, voicing his hope that the perpetrators "will be swiftly identified and brought to justice."

"The secretary-general condemns today's terrorist attacks in Istanbul, reportedly targeting Turkish police personnel, in which dozens of people were killed and injured," said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman.

Ban expressed his "deepest sympathy and condolences" to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Turkey, and wishes a quick recovery to those injured, said the statement.

Two bomb blasts outside a football stadium in central Istanbul on Saturday night have left 29 dead and 166 others injured, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said at a press conference in the largest city of Turkey.

The minister said that a moving car was detonated targeting riot police on duty near a stadium in the district of Besiktas, where a football match ended about one and half an hour before.

Istanbul and the Turkish capital Ankara have come under a spate of deadly attacks over the past year amid a worsening security situation.

Istanbul was last attacked in late June, when three suicide bombers assaulted the city's major international airport and killed 45 people.