Police in Turkey have arrested a suspect following an explosion in central Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue on Sunday that left six people dead, the Interior minister has confirmed.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told local media outlets on Monday that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was behind the bombing on the packed street in the Beyoglu district of Turkey’s largest city.
The PKK is a militant political organization aiming for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state within Turkey. The organization is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.
An assessment carried out by officials suggests that “the order for the deadly terror attack came from Ayn al-Arab in northern Syria, where the PKK/YPG has its Syrian headquarters,” Soylu said.
“We will retaliate against those who are responsible for this heinous terror attack.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast yet.
Soylu confirmed that six people were killed and 81 were injured in Sunday’s explosion, of which 51 have been released from the hospital and give are still in intensive care units.
Two of the injured victims are in critical condition, he added.
Video footage of the incident posted online shows hundreds of people fleeing the crowded area following a large explosion at around 4:13 p.m. local time. The explosion sent debris flying into the air and left several people lying on the ground.
‘The Perpetrators Of This Attack Will Be Exposed’
A separate video appears to show a woman, who is reportedly the suspect behind the bombing, sitting on a bench on the street for around 40 minutes before placing a bag on the bench and leaving the area. The explosion occurs around one or two minutes after she had left.
Turkey’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters on Sunday that there are two possibilities regarding the bag: “Either that bag had a mechanism in it and it exploded on its own, or someone detonated it from afar.”
Details regarding the victims are still being updated. However, a government ministry worker and his daughter are among those dead, according to officials.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday described the explosion as “treacherous” while offering his condolences to the victims.
“Let our nation be sure that the perpetrators of this attack will be exposed with all its elements and punished as they deserve,” the President said.
Several countries have also shared their condolences with Turkey and for the victims of Sunday’s attack, including Greece, Egypt, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Italy, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Sunday that the Biden administration “strongly condemns the act of violence” that took place in Istanbul and that the U.S. stands “shoulder-to-shoulder with our NATO Ally Türkiye in countering terrorism.”
“Our thoughts are with those who were injured and our deepest condolences go to those who lost loved ones,” the statement read.
However, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Monday took aim at what he called the “insincerity of our so-called allies,” who he said “seem like friends to us” but “either hide all terrorists in their own country, or give life to terrorists in the areas they occupy—areas they rule, and send them money in their own senates.”
From The Epoch Times