Istanbul: Turkey’s government blamed Kurdish militants for Monday’s blast in Istanbul’s main shopping street and said police had detained 22 suspects, including those suspected of planting a bomb. State broadcaster TRT released footage of the prime suspect being escorted by police from an apartment after an overnight raid. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara says is an offshoot of the PKK, were responsible for Sunday’s attack on the historic and bustling Istiklal Avenue. Soylu said the order was given in Kobani and the bomber passed through Afrin in northern Syria – both cities where Turkish forces have conducted operations against the YPG in recent years.
TRT footage showed a woman with curly hair and a purple jumper emblazoned with the words ‘New York’ being brought to police headquarters. Police used a dog to search the apartment and recovered gold, money and ammunition, it showed.
Six Turkish citizens, two members of three families each were killed in this attack. No group has claimed responsibility.
Hundreds of people fled after the explosion in Istiklal Avenue, a popular spot for shoppers and tourists with a long tramline. The area in Beyoglu district, Turkey’s largest city, was as crowded as ever over the weekend.
Earlier television news reports showed pictures of a person, who appeared to be a woman, leaving a package under a raised flower bed in the middle of the road.
The attack raised concerns that there could be more incidents in Turkey ahead of tense elections due in June 2023.
A wave of bombings and other attacks began when a ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK broke down in mid-2015, ahead of elections in November of that year. The last major attack was a 2017 New Year’s Eve shooting at a nightclub in Istanbul.
Istanbul has been attacked in the past by Kurdish, Islamist and left-wing extremists.
Istanbul’s governor’s office said five of those injured on Sunday were being treated in intensive care, who are in critical condition. He was among 31 people still injured in the hospital, while 50 people were discharged.