Bomb found near hotel in Istanbul

Turkish police safely diffused a bomb found in a bag near the entrance of the Swissotel in one of Istanbul's busiest streets in Besiktas early Monday. Street cleaners found a suspicious bag along Dolmabahce Street earlier in the day and notified police. A bomb squad diffused the explosive after police cordoned off the area and the street was temporarily closed to both pedestrian and vehicle traffic, Turkish (Today's Zaman) website reported. Police have not made a statement regarding the type of explosive. Police stated that they are still investigating who placed the bomb and why.