Istanbul blast — Police have arrested a suspect who is believed to have planted the
bomb that exploded on a bustling pedestrian avenue in Istanbul, Turkey’s interior
minister said Monday, adding that initial findings indicate that Kurdish militants
were responsible for the deadly attack.
Six people were killed and several dozen others were wounded in Sunday’s explosion
on Istiklal Avenue, a popular thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants that
leads to the iconic Taksim Square.
“A little while ago, the person who left the bomb was detained by our Istanbul Police
Department teams,” the Anadolu Agency quoted Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu as
saying. He did not identify the suspect but said 21 other people were also detained for
questioning.
The minister said evidence obtained pointed to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK,
and to its Syrian extension, the PYD. He said the attack would be avenged.
“Those who made us go through this pain in Istiklal Avenue will be inflicted much
more pain,” Soylu said.
Soylu also blamed the United States, saying a condolence message from the White
House was akin to a “killer being first to show up at a crime scene.” Turkey accuses
the U.S. of supporting Syrian Kurdish groups.
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Soylu said of the 81 people who were hospitalized, 50 were discharged. Five of the
wounded were receiving emergency care and two of them were in life-threatening
condition, he said.
The PKK has fought an insurgency in Turkey since 1984. The conflict has killed tens
of thousands of people since then.
Ankara and Washington consider the PKK a terrorist group but they diverge on the
issue of the Syrian Kurdish groups, which have fought against the Islamic State group
in Syria.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, while visiting the site of the explosion earlier in
the day, told reporters that the blast is considered a terrorist act and that a woman
was behind the attack, according to state news agency Anadolu. Derya Yanik, the
Turkish minister of family and social services, said in a tweet that one of her
colleagues and his daughter were two of the people killed in the explosion.
Footage posted online showed ambulances, fire trucks and police at the scene on
Istiklal Avenue, a popular thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants that leads to
the iconic Taksim Square. In one video, a loud bang could be heard and flames seen
as pedestrians turned and ran away.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the blast a “treacherous attack” and
said its perpetrators would be punished.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. “strongly condemns the
act of violence that took place” in Istanbul.
“Our thoughts are with those who were injured and our deepest condolences go to
those who lost loved ones. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our NATO Ally
Turkiye in countering terrorism,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, also responded to news of the
explosion and said the organization “stands in solidarity” with Turkey.
“Shocking images from #Istanbul,” Stoltenberg tweeted. “My thoughts and deepest
condolences to all those affected & to the Turkish people. #NATO stands in solidarity
with our Ally #Türkiye.”
In addition to the six people killed, Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya initially tweeted that
another 53 were wounded — casualty counts that Erdogan also gave. Yerlikaya later
told state news that the number had grown to 81, as did Erdogan and Oktay, Anadolu
reported.
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