Turkey announced on Monday 14 the arrest of a suspect in connection with an attack on an Istanbul shopping street that killed six people and injured 81, a crime the government blames on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said, “The person who planted the bomb was arrested. According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organization is responsible.”
Turkish police announced on Monday that the woman arrested and accused of planting the bomb is a Syrian national and has admitted to her actions.
According to police, he admitted to acting at the behest of the PKK and receiving guidance in Kobani, in northeastern Syria.
The woman was detained with other suspects in an apartment in Küçükçekmece, a suburb of Istanbul.
The interior minister said the suspect was planning to “escape to Greece”.
The Minister of Interior also announced that 21 more people were arrested.
The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, which has been fighting the Turkish government since the 1980s.
Ankara has already attributed other attacks on Turkish soil to the group.
Around 4:20 p.m. local time on Sunday (10:20 in Brasilia), there was great activity on Istiklal Street, a popular spot for many tourists and locals alike, in Istanbul’s economic capital, Istanbul.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “vile attack” and promised that those responsible would be punished.
The latest balance sheet records six dead and 81 injured, two seriously.
Soylu had already announced on Sunday that the order for the attack came from PKK-controlled areas in northern Syria.
“We believe that the attack order was given in Kobane,” the minister said, referring to the Syrian city close to the Turkish border.
Istiklal Street has already been the scene of attacks in the past, especially in 2015 and 2016, when other cities such as Istanbul and Ankara were hit by a series of attacks.
Nearly 500 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured in attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.
“deafening”
Police cordoned off the area to prevent people from approaching and for fear of a second explosion. A massive security force was mobilized and also blocked access to the neighborhood and adjacent streets.
“I was about 50-55 meters away, I suddenly heard an explosion. I saw 3-4 people lying on the ground,” Cemal Denizci, a 57-year-old eyewitness, told AFP.
“People ran in panic. The noise was huge. There was black smoke. The noise was so loud, it was almost deafening,” he added.
According to images circulating on social media, the blazing explosion was heard from afar and triggered a wave of panic.
The images show a large crater on the ground and several bodies.
According to the AFP reporter, many shops in the neighboring Galata district closed their shutters and some people who came running from the explosion could not control their tears.
Displaying images is prohibited
The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK, Turkish abbreviation) quickly banned the media from showing footage of the attack.
Farhettin Altun, Presidential Communications Director and close adviser to President Erdogan, argued that the aim is “not to sow seeds of fear, panic and unrest in society and to serve the purposes of terrorist organizations”.
Access to social networks was also restricted after the attack, according to Netblocks, an organization that monitors internet access.
1.4 km long Istiklal Street, which means “Istiklal” in Turkish, is located in the historical district of Beyoğlu. It is one of the most famous pedestrian streets in the city.
Sunday’s attack, seven months before the critical presidential and legislative elections, sparked a wave of condemnation and solidarity.
“Our thoughts are with the people of Turkey at this difficult time,” said Charles Michel, President of the European Council.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, of which Turkey is a member, stated that he is in “solidarity with our ally and candidate for the Atlantic Alliance, Sweden”.
However, Turkey refused the US’s condolences.
The Minister of Interior said, “We do not accept the condolence message from the US embassy. We reject it.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has often accused Washington of supplying weapons to Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, whom Ankara considers “terrorists.”
In Greece, a country with which Turkey has strained relations, the foreign ministry “strongly condemned terrorism and expressed its sincere condolences to the Turkish government and people”.
source: Noticias
