While Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu blames the PKK for the attack that took place at noon on Sunday in the center of Istanbul, the Turkish authorities have engaged in a barrage of arrests of suspects of the terrorist attack – as they call it – attack.
Mr. Soylou announced that 21 suspects were arrestedincluding the person who allegedly left the explosive device on Istiklal Avenue, which killed six people and injured 81.
The interior minister accused Kurdish forces who control much of northeastern Syria –Ankara calls them “terrorists”– how they were behind the attack.
“We estimate that the order for the attack was given by Kobani,” said Mr. Soylou.
The city is notorious for its 2015 battle, when Kurdish forces pushed back Islamic State (IS) jihadists. Kobani is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of which the PKK-allied People’s Protection Units (YPG) are the main component.
Access to the pedestrian street, which was blocked after the attack, has been allowed again since the morning, Turkish media reports.
Mr. Soylu did not specify the circumstances under which the “person” who allegedly planted the bomb was arrested, nor if it was a “woman,” as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Vice President Fuat Oktay assured on Sunday night.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozda had earlier referred to a “bag” left on a bench: “A woman sat on a bench for 40 to 45 minutes and, a minute or two later, there was an explosion. All data on this woman is under review“, he continued.
“Either this bag had a clock mechanism, or someone remotely detonated it,” he added.
President Erdogan condemned the “vulgar attack” before he left for Indonesia and the G20 summit in Bali: he spoke of an act that gives off the “smell of terrorism” and added that “a woman is involved in it”.
He promised that the perpetrators would be “exposed”adding that “our people should be sure that they will be punished”.
Mr Erdogan had already faced a campaign of terrorist acts in 2015-2016.
The explosion, which was very powerful, was heard at a great distance and caused panic among passers-by.
“People were running in panic. The clap was huge. Black smoke was rising. The sound was very loud, almost deafening,” said eyewitness Kemal Denizci, 57, who saw many people falling down.
The PKK has claimed responsibility for many bloody attacks on Turkish soil.
In December 2016, a double attack near the Besiktas soccer team stadium in Istanbul—47 dead, including 29 police officers, 160 injured—was claimed by the Freedom Hawks for Kurdistan (TAK), a Kurdish radical organization considered close to in the PKK.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
