Six people were killed and 81 injured as an explosion rocked a busy pedestrian street in central Istanbul on Sunday in what Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called a bomb attack that “smells like terrorism.”
As ambulances rushed into the crowded Istiklal Street, police quickly cordoned off the area. The area of Beyoğlu district in Turkey’s largest city was bustling with shoppers, tourists and families as usual over the weekend.
Video footage obtained by Reuters showed the moment the explosion occurred at 4:13 p.m. (1313 GMT), debris was thrown into the air, leaving several people on the ground while others fled.
About four hours after the explosion, Vice President Phat Oktay and Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu visited the blast site.
Oktay reiterated that the number of injured was 81 and six people were killed in the explosion.
“We will resolve this matter very soon,” Oktay told reporters.
“Efforts to defeat Turkey and the Turkish people through terrorism will fail today, as they failed yesterday and tomorrow,” Erdogan said at a press conference in Istanbul.
Erdogan said, adding that initial information suggested “a woman played a part” in it.”Our people can rest assured that the culprits behind the attack will be punished as they deserve.”
He added,
“It would be wrong to say this is undoubtedly a terrorist attack but the initial developments and initial intelligence from my governor is that it smells like terrorism.”
No one took responsibility for the explosion. Istanbul and other Turkish cities have been attacked by Kurdish separatists, Islamic extremists and other groups in the past, including a series of attacks in 2015 and 2016.
Reuters footage shows people tending to victims after the explosion and investigators in white costumes collecting footage from the scene where pieces of concrete planters litter the streets.
A helicopter flew over the crime scene and several ambulances stopped in nearby Taksim Square. The Turkish Red Crescent said the blood was being transferred to a nearby hospital.
Vice President Oktay said, “We are evaluating it as an act of terror”.
If confirmed, it will be the largest bomb explosion in Istanbul in several years.
In December 2016, two bombs exploded outside a football stadium in Istanbul, killing 38 people and injuring 155. This is an attack claimed by a faction of the extremist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been classified as a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
Condemnation of the attack and condolences to the victims poured in from several countries, including Greece, Egypt, Ukraine, Britain, Azerbaijan, Italy and Pakistan.
On Twitter, EU Council President Charles Michel offered his condolences to the victims after the “horrifying news”.
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