The investigation into the attack in Istanbul continues: The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs updated this morning (Monday) that after hours of intensive activity by the Department for Israelis Abroad in the Consular Wing, the Situation Center and the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, none of the disconnected persons whose safety was feared were located, and there were no Israeli casualties in the incident.
Attack in the heart of Istanbul: six killed and dozens injured
“People on the floor, crying and shaking”: Israeli tourists tell about the moments of horror
Earlier, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Suylu blamed Kurdish militants for the blast and said police had arrested 22 suspects, including the person who planted the explosive device in a crowded area in the heart of Istanbul. According to the minister, the suspect belongs to the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK
In the footage, a person, who appears to be a woman, can be seen leaving a package under a raised bed on Istiklal Avenue, a popular spot for shoppers and tourists, with a tram line running along the street. At least six people were killed and 81 injured in the blast, authorities said. 50 of the 81 injured in the attack have already been released, 2 of the injured are in critical condition and 5 have been transferred to intensive care.
Soylu said the order for the attack was given in Kuban, a city in northern Syria where Turkish forces have carried out operations against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in recent years. “We estimated that the order for the attack came from Cuban,” Soylo said, adding that the terrorist passed through Afrin, another area in northern Syria. “The person who carried out the incident, who left the luggage, was arrested. In addition, 21 other people were arrested,” he added.
The moment of the explosion in the center of Istanbul. (Photo: security camera)
Interior Minister Soylo told reporters in a briefing: “Whoever threw the bomb has been arrested. The terrorist organization PKK/PYD as part of our findings. In the near future we will present them with a ‘reward’ where whoever caused us this pain will feel more and more pain.” No one has so far accepted responsibility for the explosion.
A preliminary investigation of the attack reveals that a woman or a man pretending to be a woman placed a bag with an explosive device at the site of the attack about seven minutes before the explosion. The same figure who placed the bag arrived at the scene dressed in traditional clothes, so it is not possible to say with certainty whether it is a man or a woman.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdeg told Turkish media that a woman had been sitting on a bench in the area for more than 40 minutes, leaving just minutes before the explosion occurred. Prime Minister Daria Yanik wrote in a tweet that the government ministry employee and her young daughter were among the victims.