The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Istanbul

Two bombs exploded in a crowded Istanbul street, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 150 hours before a key court hearing Monday that could result in a ban on Turkey's ruling party.

An opposition party leader said police believe separatist Kurdish rebels were behind the deadliest attack on civilians in Turkey since 2003 when 63 people were killed in suicide bombings in Istanbul blamed on the Al-Qaeda network.

The Turkish media said the attack late Sunday appeared to be in retaliation for a crackdown on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged a firm response to the "savagery".

The head of Istanbul's forensic medicine institute put the death toll at 17, while Health Minister Recep Akdag warned it could rise as seven people remain in critical condition.

The blasts raised tensions ahead of the start Monday of a crucial meeting of the Constitutional Court on whether to ban the ruling Justice and Development Party for undermining Turkey's secular system.

Both bombs were planted in concrete rubbish containers on a crowded street lined with shops and cafes in the popular Gungoren neighbourhood on Istanbul's European side, officials said.

A small bomb went off around 10:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) Sunday creating the initial panic.

A second, more powerful explosion followed about 10 minutes later, some 50 metres (yards) away, as passers-by and residents milled around the site of the first explosion.

The second bomb claimed all the lives, including that of a 12-year-old girl hit in the heart by a piece of shrapnel as she looked down on the street from her fourth-storey balcony, Anatolia news agency reported.

There were scenes of panic with people covered in blood fleeing the area littered with debris and shattered glass.

"People gathered after the first blast. There was a real crowd. Five to 10 minutes later there was another one, much stronger than the first," resident Alaattin Hatayoglu told Anatolia.

"The building I was in was shaking. People were wounded in a 40-metre radius," he said.

The authorities did not blame any group for the bombs, but main opposition leader Deniz Baykal, who met with officials handling the case, said the attack was believed to be the work of the PKK.