Arrested for attack in Istanbul, Turkish government holds PKK responsible

Turkish police have arrested a suspect for the explosion in a commercial street in Istanbul which left six dead and 81 injured on Sunday. This was announced by Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.

The suspect allegedly planted a bomb in the busy shopping street, Soylu said. He also said he held the Turkish-Kurdish organization PKK responsible for the attack. “According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organization is responsible,” Soylu said. Besides Turkey, the PKK is also considered a terrorist group by the EU and the US.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that a woman was involved in the attack. Immediately after the explosion, videos emerged showing a woman leaving something in the busy shopping street just before the explosion.

witnesses say it was a very loud explosion. “There was black smoke. The blow was so hard, it was almost deafening.” eyewitness Cemal Denizci told AFP news agency. “I saw people running and injured people walking past the internet cafe I was in on their way to the hospital,” says another eyewitness.

The blast occurred in the busy shopping street of Istiklal, near Taksim Square. “When I heard the explosion, I was terrified. People froze, looked at each other. Then everyone started running. What else can you do?” asks Mehmet Akus, an employee of a 45-year-old restaurant and eyewitness.

Avital from Voorburg also saw how everyone started running and screaming, he says RTL news. “There was total panic. At one point we escaped to a department store a little further on, where the shutters were already down when we entered”. Avital was 100 meters from the explosion when it happened.

The explosion can be seen on surveillance camera footage. The images are shocking:

The trio hid in the shop for ten minutes. “Then the owner raised the shutters, but there was also a second flow of people who seemed to flee at that moment”.

Fifteen minutes later they entered an alley and then another half hour to the hotel. It was only then that I realized what had happened that afternoon. “Physically we are fine, but we are very angry about it.”