Authorities in Turkey announced early Monday morning that they have arrested the woman suspected of carrying out the bomb attack on Istanbul’s busy Istiklal Avenue in Turkey.
Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu told the media that the person who allegedly planted the bomb that caused an explosion that has left at least six dead and 81 injured has been detained by the Istanbul Police Department.
Soylu also linked the alleged bomber – of whom no further information has been released – to the Kurdish guerrilla Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
«The person who threw the bomb has been arrested. The PKK terrorist organization is within the framework of our findings,» Soylu said in statements carried by the TRT television channel.
Soylu said that Turkish authorities have determined that «the order for the deadly terrorist attack came from Ain al Arab in northern Syria, where the People’s Protection Units (YPG) are based,» referring to a prominent Kurdish-Syrian militia with ties to the PKK.
«We will act against those responsible for this heinous terrorist attack,» the minister noted, before adding that 21 other people have been arrested for their alleged connection to the attack.
«Those who have caused us to suffer this pain on Istiklal Avenue will suffer much more pain,» Soylu threatened, who has also rejected the condolences of the United States and equated them with «the murderer who is the first to appear at the scene of the crime,» as reported by the Turkish daily ‘Hurriyet’.
The leader of the ministerial portfolio has pointed out, after conveying his condolences, that in recent years his country has managed to repel about 200 attacks. However, he described this event as a «disgrace».
«For about six years we have not experienced an effective event, a terrorist incident like the one we experienced last night in Istanbul. Our nation is ashamed,» he has expressed, after acknowledging that they are «facing a big test». «We have clashes on the mountain, on the borders, in the city,» he added.
«The face of terror is bitter, but we will continue this fight to the end no matter what the cost. Especially the insincerity of our so-called allies, who hide all terrorists who seem to be our friends in their own country, or give life to terrorists in the areas they occupy, in the areas they govern, and send them money from their own senates, is obviously insincere,» Soylu has lamented.
An attack on Sunday on Istiklal Avenue has killed six people, including two children. In addition, 81 people were injured, of whom 50 have been discharged and two others are in serious condition.
Istanbul has been hit by several explosions in the past, including a suicide bombing on Istiklal in 2016 by a suspected member of the Islamic State jihadist group that claimed the lives of five people.
In the same year, the PKK, considered by Turkey to be a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for a bombing that killed 38 people outside a soccer stadium in the Besiktas area of central Istanbul.
