We are shocked by the news that reached us from Turkey in the night. Once again, Istanbul has been hit by two brutal terrorist attacks. Dozens of people were killed and more than one hundred injured. And once again these attacks primarily targeted the security forces, who were patrolling the streets during a football game in the district of Besiktas.

We condemn these terrorist attacks in the strongest possible terms and join our Turkish partners in mourning. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends. We wish the many injured a speedy recovery.

We still do not know who was behind these attacks. Nothing can justify such acts, however.

The fact that these attacks were intended to hit as many people as possible makes them especially perfidious. They were also targeted against a society of sport fans that was attempting to recover from the terrible attacks of recent months and to return to a sense of normality.