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UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- 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.
