Photo from the aftermath of suicide attack in Istanbul
ISTANBUL -- A suicide bomb attack near a crowded shopping area of central Istanbul has left at least five dead and 36 injured.
The incident marks the fourth major blast in the country in recent months.
The explosion occurred just before 11a.m. local time Saturday near a government building in the area, reports confirm. Known terror groups such as the Islamic State or Kurdish militants have yet to claim responsibility for the blast.
At least 12 of those wounded were foreign nationals, the country's Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said during a telecast. Seven of those injured are reportedly in critical condition.
Three of those injured were Israeli tourists, BBC said.
The blast comes less than a week after 37 people were killed in a suicide car bombing in the Turkish capital of Ankara. About 125 were injured in the bus station explosion, later claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) -- an affiliated branch of the Kurdish PKK.
In February, TAK admitted responsibility for a similar attack killing 28 in the capital city.
The latest suicide attack comes as a flurry of similar explosions which have occurred in the country in the last six months.
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