ALBAWABA - Turkey said an explosion that ripped across its busy commercial city of Istanbul, killing eight people and wounding dozens, is possibly a terrorist attack hatched by an armed Kurdish guerrilla movement.
While the nation mourned its victims on Monday, investigations were underway to determine the motives behind Sunday's mid-afternoon explosion in one of the world's busiest cities at the peak of business activity in the usually bustling Taksim Square. At least 81 people were also injured in the attack.
#BREAKING: Moment of explosion in Taksim Sqaure, Istanbul. Possible bomb attack, bodies seen lying on the ground by eyewitnesses pic.twitter.com/ahrDcCvwXM
— ELINT News (@ELINTNews) November 13, 2022
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the blast could be the works of terrorists.
Turkish authorities arrested the person who left the bomb that caused the explosion in Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.
#BREAKING: Massive explosion in Taksim square in Istanbul. Suspected terrorist attack. Several injured and several dead. pic.twitter.com/mbMuG41tpE
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) November 13, 2022
“Our assessment is that the order for the deadly terror attack came from Ayn al-Arab in northern Syria, where the PKK/YPG has its Syrian headquarters,” he said, referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a Kurdish organization and an armed guerrilla group, which inhabits the mountains of the predominantly Kurdish areas of southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq.
A woman has been arrested for the bomb attack in Taksim
— Muhalif Gönderiler (@muhalifgonderi) November 14, 2022
The first info is that she is from PKK-YPG.#İstanbul #Taksim #BOMB #Turkey#turkeyblast pic.twitter.com/kiDUAOF00e
Images of the blast splashed the social media, with some showing victims lying on the ground and others running in panic.
Distressed to heard about the incident at #Taksim in #Turkey
— Ahmed Raza Qadri (@AhmedRazaQadri) November 14, 2022
My heartiest prayers goes with the affectees out there. Be safe & may Allah protect us all! #PakTurk #TurkeyExplosion #TaksimAttack pic.twitter.com/QSuW8oZvN7
AFP quoted eyewitness Cemal Denizci, 57, saying he "was 50-55 meters away, suddenly there was the noise of an explosion."
"I saw three or four people on the ground," he said. "People were running in panic. The noise was huge. There was black smoke."
Yusuf Meydan and his little daughter Ecrin Meydan lost their lives in the bomb attack in #Taksim.
— WAR GONZA ?? ?? ?? (@WarGonza12) November 14, 2022
Condolences to the Turkish nation. #Turkey #İstanbul pic.twitter.com/hQqzDKzPWy
Soylu, the Turkish interior minister, asserted that Ankara was determined to continue with its resolute and rightful war on terror. “We will retaliate against those who are responsible for this heinous terror attack,” he said. He noted that eight people were killed, and 81 were injured in the attack.
#Istanbul
— Sumit Chaudhary (@SumitDefence) November 13, 2022
Bomb attack near Taksim Square in the center of #Istanbul , Turkey.
More than Dozens of casualties reported. pic.twitter.com/TLUateNgxa
