Qualla: 2012 Istanbul Suicide Bombing

2012 Istanbul Suicide Bombing: Introduction

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Voice of America, Public domain. Police officer Bülent Özkan was on duty at the entrance of the 75th Anniversary Police Station in Istanbul's Sultangazi district on the morning of September 11, 2012, when a man approached and attempted to enter. Özkan tried to stop him — physically, pushing the attacker back toward the door. The attacker, İbrahim Çuhadar, a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), detonated the explosives he had strapped to his body. Bülent Özkan died on the way to the hospital. Seven others were injured. This is a story about the last act of a police officer doing his job.

Image: Voice of America | Public domain

2012 Istanbul Suicide Bombing: Bülent Özkan

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Voice of America, Public domain. The record of September 11, 2012 gives us one name among the dead on the side of those who were protecting: Bülent Özkan, a police officer stationed at the entrance door of the 75th Anniversary Police Station. When the attacker arrived and was refused entry, Özkan moved to physic...

Image: Voice of America | Public domain

2012 Istanbul Suicide Bombing: The Attack

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Voice of America, Public domain. Çuhadar arrived at the 75th Anniversary Police Station at 11:00 a.m. local time. He crossed the guard cabin at the gate and walked the fifty-meter path between the garden entrance and the station building, reaching the x-ray device at the entrance door. He first threw a grenade i...

Image: Voice of America | Public domain

2012 Istanbul Suicide Bombing: Background: The July 2012 Incident

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Voice of America, Public domain. The September bombing did not occur without warning signals. On July 20, 2012, a separate incident had taken place near the Gazi neighborhood in Sultangazi: gunfire was directed at police from a taxi, and those in the vehicle threatened the driver at gunpoint. The passengers were...

Image: Voice of America | Public domain

2012 Istanbul Suicide Bombing: Sultangazi and the People There

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Voice of America, Public domain. Sultangazi is a large residential district in the northwest of Istanbul's European side — a neighborhood of apartment buildings, markets, schools, and the ordinary texture of urban life. The 75th Anniversary Police Station served that community. The seven people injured alongside...

Image: Voice of America | Public domain

2012 Istanbul Suicide Bombing: After

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Voice of America, Public domain. The body of İbrahim Çuhadar was buried at the Gazi Cemetery in Istanbul, according to Turkish press reports. The DHKP-C continued to operate for years after the 2012 attack, conducting further actions against Turkish security forces and diplomatic targets. Sultangazi's police sta...

Image: Voice of America | Public domain