The Turkish authorities announced in the early hours of this Monday that They arrested the woman suspected of having carried out the suicide attack in the busy Istiklal avenue in Istanbulwhich left six dead and blamed the attack on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu told the media that the person who allegedly left the bomb that caused an explosion that left at least six people dead and 81 injured was detained by the Istanbul Police Department.
“The person who threw the bomb has been arrested. The organization terrorist PKK/PYD is within the framework of our findings. In the near future, we will show you a reward in which those who caused us this pain can experience more and more pain,” Soylu said in statements collected by the television channel. TRT.
The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.a, and has been in an armed struggle against the Turkish government since the 1980s.
Ankara has pointed him out in the past as responsible for bloody attacks on Turkish territory.
Through this message, the leader of the ministerial portfolio linked the attacker with the PKK armed groupwhom he pointed out as ultimately responsible for the incident.
“The face of terror is bitter, but we will continue this fight to the end no matter the cost. Especially the insincerity of our so-called allies, who hide all the terrorists who appear to be our friends in their own country, or bring terrorists to life in the areas they occupy, in the areas they rule, and send them money from their own senates. , it’s obviously insincere,” Soylu lamented.
The suicide attack carried out this Sunday on Istiklal Avenue caused the death of six people, while 81 were injured, two of them being in serious condition.
Istiklal Avenue had already been the scene of attacks in the past, especially during the years 2015-2016, when Istanbul and other cities such as Ankara, the capital, suffered a series of attacks.
Those attacks, claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group, killed nearly 500 people and injured more than 2,000.
The police cordoned off the place for fear of a second explosion. An impressive deployment of security forces also blocked access to the neighborhood and surrounding streets.
“I was about 50-55 meters away, suddenly there was an explosion noise. I saw three or four people on the ground, ”she declared to the AFP a witness, Cemal Denizci, 57 years old.
“People were running in panic. The noise was enormous. There was black smoke. The noise was so loud, almost deafening,” she reported.
The explosion, which caused flames, was heard from afar and triggered a panic movement, according to images posted on social networks.
In the images you can see a large black crater and several bodies lying on the ground.
In the neighboring neighborhood of Galata, many shops decided to close and some passers-by, who came running from the site of the explosion, had tears in their eyes, according to a journalist from the AFP.
The Higher Council of Broadcasting and Television (RTÜK) quickly banned the media from broadcasting images of the attack to “avoid spreading fear, panic and agitation in society and serve the objectives of terrorist organizations.”
Access to social media was also restricted after the attack, according to Netblocks, an organization that monitors internet access.
Istiklal Avenue, 1.4 km long and meaning “Independence”, is located in the historic district of Beyoğlu. It is one of the most famous pedestrian streets in the city, where both locals and tourists come.
The attack this Sunday, which occurs seven months before crucial presidential and legislative elections, generated a wave of condemnations and expressions of solidarity.
“Our thoughts are with the people of Turkey at this difficult time,” said the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.
The NATO Secretary Generalof which Turkey is a part, expressed its “solidarity with our ally”, as did Sweden, a candidate to join the Atlantic Alliance, and the White House in Washington.
In Greece, a country with which Turkey maintains tense relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “unequivocally condemned terrorism and expressed its sincere condolences to the Turkish government and people.”
(With information Europa Press and AFP)
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