Officials claim there is a suspect in custody in the Istanbul explosion that left 6 dead and 81 wounded.
An arrest has been made in connection with an explosion that killed at least six people and injured at least 81 others in Istanbul on Sunday, according to Turkey’s interior ministry early Monday.
According to state news agency Anadolu, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay declared the event a terrorist act on Sunday.
“We consider it a terrorist act because an attacker, whom we believe to be a woman, detonated the bomb,” Oktay told reporters on Sunday.
According to Turkey’s interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, Kurdish separatists from the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) are most likely behind the deadly suspected bomb attack.
“According to our first findings, it is the PKK/PYD terrorist group,” Soylu stated during a news conference at the scene of Sunday’s bombing on Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue.
Soylu did not elaborate or offer specifics on how the investigators arrived at this judgment.
“The guy who left the device was brought into custody a short time ago by units from the Istanbul Police Department.” “21 additional persons were arrested prior to their arrest,” the minister stated. “The face of terrorism is harsh, but we will fight until the end, whatever the cost.”
CCTV footage shows a lady sitting on a seat for more than 40 minutes before rising one or two minutes before the explosion and leaving a bag or plastic bag behind.
According to Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, the luggage was left behind.
In an interview with the privately owned A Haber news station, Bozdag stated that Turkish security authorities think the lady is the suspect and that officials are investigating her.
“There are two options.” That bag or plastic bag has a mechanism that either bursts on its own or is detonated from a distance. “All of this is still being investigated,” he continued.
“The woman’s name is unknown,” he explained. “All of the woman’s recordings and data are being evaluated.”
The explosion occurred on Istiklal Street in Beyoglu Square, in the center of Turkey’s largest metropolis, according to Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya.
“We pray for God’s mercy on those who have died and a swift recovery for those who have been hurt,” Yerlikaya tweeted.
The six people killed include Yusuf Meydan, a member of Turkey’s Ministry of Family and Social Services, and his daughter Ecrin, according to Derya Yanık, the minister of the agency.
Soylu, the interior minister, said Monday that 50 of the 81 people injured have been discharged from the hospital, with 31 people still being treated.
Turkey’s conflict with Kurdish separatist groups has spanned four decades and claimed tens of thousands of lives. The PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
“In particular, the insincerity of our so-called allies who seem friendly to us, who either hide terrorists in their own country, or feeds terrorists in the areas they occupy and send them money from their own senates, is obvious,” Soylu said.
“We will give them a response in the near future, to those who caused us this pain in Beyoglu Istiklal Street so they experience more and more pain,” Soylu said.
