MOSCOW: Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu says the person who left an explosive device in Istanbul on Sunday has been detained, reported Sputnik, quoting TRT World public broadcaster.
An explosion occurred on the pedestrian tourist street Istiklal in Istanbul on Sunday afternoon. According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at least six people were killed.
Soylu said as quoted by TRT World that “the person who left the bomb has been detained.” According to the interior minister, initial data indicates that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its military wing YPG, both of which are designated by Ankara as terrorist organisations, are behind the terrorist act.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Sunday that the explosion, qualified as a terrorist act by the authorities, left 81 people injured, 39 of them have already been released from hospitals.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said a woman, who was spotted sitting on a bench in Istiklal and left right before the blast occurred, leaving a bag, was suspected of having carried out the terrorist act in Istanbul on Sunday. -BERNAMA