Time.news – A bomb exploded in the central Istiklal Caddesi, an artery of Istanbul always crowded with residents and tourists, causing six deaths and eighty-one injuries.
The powerful blast occurred at 4:20 pm, when the crowd was particularly thick. The attack has not yet been claimed and has been attributed to “a woman” who “detonated the bomb” by the Turkish vice president, Fuat Oktay.
“A woman sits on one of the benches there for more than 40 minutes, then gets up. An explosion occurs 1-2 minutes after it rises. There are two possibilities. Either that bag had a timer in it and it exploded by itself or someone detonated it from a distance, “said Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, who carried out an inspection together with Oktay and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.
© YASIN AKGUL / AFP
Attack in Istanbul
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, for his part, announced that “42 injured are still hospitalized, including five in intensive care, two in critical condition”.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, denounced the “cowardly attack” just before leaving for Bali, where the G20 summit will take place. “The first observations suggest a terrorist attack,” said the head of state, who was the first to speak of the “possible involvement” of a woman.
The police immediately set up a large security cordon to prevent access to the areafor fear of a second explosion.
“I was 50-55 meters away, suddenly there was the sound of an explosion. I saw three or four people on the ground,” a witness told France Presse, “people ran in panic. The noise was huge. There was black smoke. The sound was so loud, almost deafening “,
Melons, terrible images, heartfelt condolences
“The images of Istanbul are terrible, I want to express our deepest condolences to Turkey for the attack suffered and the death of innocent citizens”. This was stated by the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The images of Istanbul are terrible, I want to express our deepest condolences to Turkey for the attack suffered and the death of innocent citizens.
– Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) November 13, 2022
Tajani, currently no Italians involved
“Italy condemns with the utmost firmness the cowardly attack that shocked the city of Istanbul today. In expressing solidarity with the families of those affected and wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded, Italy reaffirms its closeness to the institutions and the Turkish people and reaffirms, on the anniversary of the Bataclan massacre, its resolute commitment to the fight against terrorism.
The Consulate General, in close collaboration with the Crisis Unit, immediately took action to verify the possible involvement of compatriots. At the moment there are no Italians, neither among the victims nor among the injured. ”This was stated by the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani.
© Twitter Explosion in the center of Istanbul
The images posted on social networks show several bodies lying in the site of the attack. In the neighboring Galata neighborhood, many shops soon lowered their shutters.
The authorities suffered the media prohibited from transmitting images of the scene of the massacre to “prevent the spread of fear” and “serving the objectives of terrorist organizations”.
Social media access in Turkey was restricted after the attack, Netblocks reported. According to the Anadolu news agency, 25 people are being investigated for publishing “provocative” content related to the attack. The football match Besiktas-Fraport TAV Antalyaspor has been postponed.
BREAKING: At least 4 dead following explosion in central #IstanbulTurkey. Looks like it was a bomb explosion.#improvisation #independence #bomba
pic.twitter.com/geF9jeXtDK— BNL NEWS (@BreakingNLive_) November 13, 2022
Istiklal Caddesu, in the historic Beyoglu district, is an entirely pedestrian street of one and a half kilometers, home to very busy shops, restaurants and nightclubs. The street had been hit by an attack as early as March 2016, when a suicide bomber killed five people.
Messages of condolence have come from all over the world. “All our thoughts to the Turkish people in these difficult times”, tweeted the president of the European Council, Charles Michel. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed his “solidarity with our ally”.
“We share your pain“, is instead the message of Emmanuel Macron, on the day in which France commemorates the 130 deaths of the attacks of 13 November 2015.
The White House, in a statement, assured that the United States “is shoulder to shoulder with our Turkish ally within NATO in the fight against terrorism”.
Israel, with which a difficult reconciliation has been reached, said that “terror will never winAnd Athens, despite tense relations with Ankara, expressed “its sincere condolences to the Turkish government and people”.
ALERT – Bomb attack near Taksim Square in the heart of downtown#Istanbul, in Turkey. Dozens of casualties reported. pic.twitter.com/DBWbU2TC7K
— French Info (@InfosFrancaises) November 13, 2022