Sixteen people were injured on Thursday as a roadside bomb exploded in central Istanbul, near Turkey’s ruling party headquarters.

Sixteen people were injured on Thursday as a roadside bomb exploded in central Istanbul, near Turkey's ruling party headquarters.

Istanbul police chief Huseyin Capkin said the blast came from a "remote-controlled bomb that went off as a duty vehicle with 21 policemen on board drove by," the Anatolia news agency reported.

The device was made of plastic explosives, Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu was quoted as saying by the agency.
"The bomb was planted on a motorcycle waiting by the roadside, and went off around 0700 GMT as the police vehicle passed," Mutlu said.

Witnesses in nearby vehicles spoke of a strong blast that shook their cars and spread panic among morning commuters.
The wounded were admitted to hospital but none of their injuries were critical, Capkin added.
Police blocked access to the blast zone, fearing a second explosion.

The blast hit close to the offices of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who condemned the attack as an "act of terror".

"The villains that carried out this attack will never reach their ambitions," he said in televised remarks, without naming any suspects.
Erdogan said 15 of those wounded were police officers.