Terrorism struck at the heart of Turkey on Sunday afternoon (13 November)
At least six people were killed and 81 others injured, two seriously, when an explosion hit Istanbul’s iconic pedestrian street, Istiklal Cadesi, just off the city's Taksim Square.
At all times of the day and night crowds congregate in the street. to shop, eat and drink, and often just to watch other people. The street attracts both local people as well as visitors from other parts of Turkey and from across the world, and for many Istiqlal Caddesi represents Istanbul and Turkey's vibrant diversity. An attack on Istiqlal Caddesi is indeed an attack on the heart of Turkey.
Turkey has blamed the outlawed Kurdish organisation PKK for the attack.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said early Monday that the suspect who had carried out the attack had been captured
He said 21 others linked to the bomber were also detained, adding the existing findings showed it was an attack perpetrated by the PKK/YPG terrorist group, referring to a branch of the PKK group in Syria's north. "We have evaluated that the instruction for the attack came from Kobani," Soylu told reporters, adding that the bomber had "passed through Afrin in northern Syria."
Turkey has imposed a ban on reporting of the incident, but various sources say that the bomber was a woman.
source: commonspace.eu
photo: Istiqlal Caddesi seen unusually empty except for a police patrol after the terrorist attack on 13 November 2022 (Picture courtesy of Anadolu Agency, Ankara)
