At least six people were killed and 81 were wounded in an explosion that took place on a busy shopping street in Istanbul on Sunday, 13 November, BBC informs.
The blast took place in the Taksim Square area at around 16:20 p.m. local time. Turkish minister of the interior reported that a suspect was detained – a woman. Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay informed that the terror attack was carried out by a woman. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to punish those responsible for this attack.
At a press-conference the president condemned this attack and said there is terrorism in the air.
Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag told the media that the suspect spent 40 minutes sitting on a bench, after which she left mere minutes before the explosion. In the morning on Monday, 14 November, the Turkish minister of the interior reported that the suspect was apprehended. He also blamed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for the attack. PKK is a militant group that wants to establish an independent Kurdish state in Turkey. The European Union and the U.S. have declared this a terrorist organisation.
So far no one has taken responsibility for this attack.
It is reported that a ministry worker and his daughter are among the victims. BBC informs that police are working at the site and that the surrounding area is locked down. Helicopters are seen patrolling the skies above Istanbul.
Customers of an internet cafe located nearby describe the situation as chaotic: «I saw people running around and wounded people were passing by the internet café towards hospital. It was a frenzy.»
After the attack Turkey received condolences and words of solidarity from other countries.
The last time a terrorist attack took place in Istanbul was in 2016. Representatives of the Islamic State terrorist organisation took responsibility for that one.