According to AFP, Turkey’s interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, blamed the bomb attack on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkey: A bombing suspect was apprehended hours after an explosion killed at least six people on a busy street in Istanbul, Turkey. According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, Turkey’s interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, said on Monday that the person is suspected of planting the device.
Soylu blamed the bomb attack on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). According to AFP, he said, “According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organisation is responsible.”
Earlier, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared that the bombing “smells like terrorism.” Furthermore, he and the country’s vice president, Faut Oktay, claimed that a “woman” bomber carried out the attack.
In addition to the six individuals murdered, 81 others were injured in the explosion that rocked the busy pedestrian street on Sunday.
The video leaked online shortly after the explosion showed hundreds of people fleeing the street as ambulances and police rushed to the scene. The usual crowds of tourists, families, and shoppers were present.
Following the explosion, some people were observed lying on the ground while others fled, with parents clutching their children.
Authorities later revealed that a Turkish government ministry worker and his daughter were among the dead. According to the news agency Reuters, five of those injured were taken to a hospital for intensive care, two of them in critical condition.
At a press conference, Erdogan stated that efforts to “destroy Turkey and the Turkish people through terrorism will fail today, just as they did yesterday and will fail tomorrow.”
“Our people may be guaranteed that the perpetrators… will be punished as they deserve,” he said, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag was quoted by Anadolu as saying that a woman waited on a bench in the street for nearly 40 minutes before leaving minutes before the explosion, hinting that a bomb was set to explode or was detonated from afar.
Messages of disapproval and sorrow for the deaths have come worldwide, including Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Italy, Egypt, and Greece.
So far, no one has claimed credit for the incident.
In December 2016, twin bombs exploded at an Istanbul soccer stadium, killing 38 people and injuring 155 more. The PKK considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union (EU), claimed responsibility at the time.
