State-run Anadolu News Agency quoted Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Monday on Monday that police arrested the person who dropped the bomb that caused the Istanbul explosion, while regional and international sentences followed l accident which killed 6 people and injured 81 others, including two in critical condition.
The French news agency also cited the Turkish interior minister, accusing the PKK of being behind the bombing, which took place on Sunday afternoon in Istiklal Tourist Street.
For his part, Turkish Health Minister Fakhruddin Koca announced that 39 of the 81 injured have left the hospital after completing treatment.
Turkish security had released a photo of who it said was the suspect in carrying out the bombing on Istiklal Street in Istanbul, and Al-Jazeera obtained a photo of him from different angles as he stood in Taksim Square leading to Istiklal Street, and the pictures show him wearing paramilitary clothing.
The city prosecutor announced that 5 prosecutors had been assigned to investigate the bombing. Turkey’s media watchdog has also imposed a ban on publishing any information related to the explosion.
Earlier, Turkish Vice President Fuad Oktay said, “We consider the bombing of Istiklal Street to be a terrorist act that occurred as a result of a woman blasting a bomb,” noting that the number of injured reached 81, out of two of which are in critical condition.
Oktay stressed – in a statement released to journalists during his visit to the site of the bombing, accompanied by Interior Ministers Suleiman Soylu and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag – that those involved in this act and those behind it “they will be prosecuted even if they are at the end of the world”.
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hinted that the incident was terrorist and said that terrorist organizations would not be able to bring the state to its knees.
Erdogan pledged, in a televised speech after the blast, to reveal the perpetrators of this “heinous attack”, referring to the involvement of a woman, and said they “will have their punishment”.
The moment of the explosion on Istiklal Street. pic.twitter.com/YOzyMnRJbX
— Levent Kemal (@leventkemaI) November 13, 2022
local reactions
As part of local reactions, Turkish politicians expressed their condolences to the victims of the Istiklal Street bombing in Istanbul.
And the leader of the opposition Good Party, Meral Aksnar, in a tweet on Twitter, took pity on the souls of the victims and called for the recovery of the wounded.
In turn, the head of the opposition Republican People’s Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, expressed his condolences to the Turkish people and asked for mercy for the citizens who lost their lives and healing for the wounded.
HDP also released a statement expressing its deep sorrow and grief for the victims who were killed in the Istiklal Street blast.
The head of the communication department of the Turkish presidency, Fahrettin Altun, said that all institutions and stakeholders are conducting a timely, thorough and effective investigation into the incident, as he described it.
Altun called on media organizations to take responsibility, not to rely on misleading content generated by social media, and to take the statements of relevant public authorities as a basis.
For his part, Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for the Turkish presidency, said that the investigation into the Taksim bombing in Istanbul is taking place in many ways
Kalin added in a tweet on Twitter that the shelling will be revealed in all its dimensions, stressing that no attack will be able to break Turkey’s resolve and resistance, as he said.
moment of explosion
The blast occurred during the busy hours of the famous tourist street and during a sunny weekly holiday in Turkey. The authorities immediately dispatched ambulances and fire crews, teams of investigators and experts to dismantle the explosives.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Omar Al-Haj said Turkish security prevented entry to Istiklal Street and called on citizens to refrain from leaving homes and shops in the area.
The reporter indicated that the last such bombing or attack in Istanbul was in 2017.
He underlined the vital importance of Istiklal Street, which is estimated to be passed by more than two million people a day.
The correspondent said the bombing is a challenge to security efforts that have often focused on this road due to its tourist importance, as well as the presence of foreign mission headquarters, especially the Russian and Dutch consulates, and other famous landmarks. of reference .
On the other hand, the Turkish Red Crescent said bags of blood had been transferred to hospitals close to the crash site.
Turkey’s Supreme Broadcasting Council imposed a ban on covering up the blast, about an hour after it occurred.
The Turkish academic and political analyst, Abdul Muttalib Erba, said – in a speech during an Al-Jazeera bulletin – that the explosion occurred after about 5 years of calm and security, so much so that the Turkish people have forgotten these explosions .
The political analyst explained that the timing of the explosion could indicate a suspected attempt to ruin the rapprochement between the ruling Justice and Development Party and the People’s Democratic Party, which has Kurdish origins.
A surveillance camera documents the moment of the explosion that rocked the Taksim area #Istanbul pic.twitter.com/8wXMYcSlUs
– Al-Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) November 13, 2022
Condolence and condemnation
Many countries in the region and around the world have expressed their condolences to the Turkish people following the explosion and the number of casualties is believed to rise.
The Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, made a phone call to the Turkish president, in which he expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy for the victims of the blast, according to a statement by Emiri Diwan.
Sheikh Tamim said: “The State of Qatar supports Turkey and its fraternal people, and its full support for all the measures it takes to preserve its security and stability”, reiterating Doha’s firm stance on “rejection of violence and terrorism”.
The United States of America has condemned Sunday’s attack on Istiklal Street, in the center of the Turkish city of Istanbul.
“Our thoughts are with those who have been hurt and our deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones,” White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said in a statement. terrorism.”
For its part, Saudi Arabia has expressed its condemnation “in the strongest terms” for the “terrorist” attack that hit the Taksim area, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The UAE also condemned the Istanbul bombing and confirmed in a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs its firm condemnation of these “criminal acts”, expressing their condolences to the government and people of Turkey and the families of victims.
The State of Kuwait has also offered its condolences in telegrams to the Turkish President, sent by the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, his Crown Prince, Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Sabah and National Assembly Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun, according to the Kuwait News Agency.
The moment of the explosion that shook Taksim Square #Istanbul And left dead and wounded pic.twitter.com/0ERLFWIwGR
– Al-Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) November 13, 2022
In a statement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation expressed its condemnation of the terrorist attack, expressing condolences and solidarity with Turkey.
For its part, the Gulf Cooperation Council expressed – in a statement – its condemnation of the Istanbul attack, emphasizing “the firm position of the GCC countries against terrorism”.
The Kingdom of Jordan also expressed “its deepest condolences to fraternal Turkey for the victims of the terrorist attacks”.
In Egypt, the Foreign Ministry expressed its condemnation – in the strongest terms – of the “terrorist attack” in Istanbul, “and we extend our condolences to the families of the victims, to the friendly Turkish people and to the Republic of Turkey”.
In Algeria, the Foreign Ministry condemned the “terrorist” attack in a statement, offering its condolences to Turkey and expressing full solidarity with its leadership, the government and the people.
In Palestine, President Mahmoud Abbas said, in a statement, “the solidarity of the Palestinian people and their leadership and their full support for the Turkish people and leadership.” The foreign ministry also condemned what it called a “cowardly” terrorist attack.
At the same time, a spokesman for the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said that the movement strongly condemns the “criminal and sinful bombing that targeted civilians on Istiklal Street”.
On the other hand, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg expressed his condolences for the victims of the bombings, which he described as “very horrific”, underlining solidarity with Turkey, a member state of the ‘alliance.
Even the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, expressed his condolences to the victims of the explosion in Istanbul, “after receiving the terrible news today”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted in Turkish, saying, “I extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wish a speedy recovery for the injured. The grief of the friendly Turkish people is our grief.”
For her part, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Twitter: “The scenes of the attack in Istanbul are horrific. I condolence to Turkey for the civilian casualties that fell as a result of the attack.”
Furthermore, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he received news of the bombing with great sadness and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
For his part, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said terrorism in all its forms was abhorrent and that London sympathized with Ankara against this heinous act, as he described it.
German Foreign Minister Analina Berbock described the explosion scenes in Istanbul as horrific and said she shared the pain of those attacked.
For his part, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov called his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, and offered his condolences to the bombing victims.
Israel also offered its condolences and President Isaac Herzog said, “The news of the despicable bombing in Istanbul shocked me.”
