This country responds to terrorism as one heart and one voice. Whoever thinks that Turkey could be dragged to instability through terrorism, murder and violence, it should be known that they will never be able to achieve that," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of his Justice and Development (AK) Party at parliament.

Two bombs exploded minutes apart Sunday night in a busy shopping area in Istanbul's Gungoren district, killing 17 people including six children, injuring 154 others.

"These heinous designs and plans will fail in their attempt to wound the unified soul of our nation," Erdogan said.

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