New Delhi: The person who left the bomb that caused the explosion at Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue on Sunday has been arrested by the police, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday according to state-run Anadolu agency's Twitter account.
Turkish media on Sunday reported that an explosion on Istanbul's popular pedestrian Istiklal Avenue has injured 11 people. Footage showed ambulances, fire trucks and police at the scene. Social media users said shops were shuttered and the avenue closed down. In his brief address, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the explosion on the main street a 'treacherous attack' and confirmed that six people have died and 53 have been wounded in the incident. He did not say who was behind the attack but said it had the "smell of terror" without offering details and also adding that was not certain yet.
Sunday's explosion was a shocking reminder of the anxiety and safety concerns that stalked the Turkish population during years when such attacks were common. The country was hit by a string of deadly bombings between 2015 and 2017, some by the Islamic State group, others by Kurdish militants who seek increased autonomy or independence. In recent years, Erdogan has led a broad crackdown on the militants as well as on Kurdish lawmakers and activists. Amid skyrocketing inflation and other economic troubles, Erdogan's anti-terrorism campaign is a key rallying point for him ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next year.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told pro-government broadcaster A Haber that investigators were focusing on a woman who sat on a bench by the scene of the blast for about 40 minutes. The explosion took place just minutes after she left. He said her identity was not yet clear, nor was it clear what group might be behind the attack.
A manager of a restaurant near where the bomb went off said he heard the explosion and saw people running. The dozens of customers inside his restaurant, including women and children, panicked and screamed. The manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said he closed his restaurant's shutters, fearing there might be another explosion, and tried to calm the customers down. After about 15 to 25 minutes inside, he saw police on the avenue and organized the customers and his staff to leave in small groups. (With Agency inputs)
