Istanbul soccer match halted over threat
AP on March 21, 2016, 8:08 am
An Istanbul soccer game has been cancelled amid media report citing a bomb threat at the stadium.
Turkish authorities have called off a Galatasaray-Fenerbahce soccer derby in Istanbul about two hours before kickoff citing an unspecified threat, and said the game would be played at a later date.
A brief statement from the Istanbul governor's office said the match on Sunday was cancelled following "the assessment of serious intelligence", but didn't provide details.
It said the decision was made following "the request and the agreement" of the two bitter rivals.
Unconfirmed media reports said there was a bomb threat at the stadium.
The decision came a day after an Islamic State group-linked suicide bomber killed himself and four foreign tourists on Istanbul's main pedestrian street.
The attack was the sixth suicide bombing in Turkey since July that have either been blamed on the IS group or claimed by Kurdish militants.
It came amid heightened alert in Turkey in the run-up to the Kurdish spring festival of Newroz, which has led to violent confrontations between Kurdish and Turkish security forces in the past.
