Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that the explosion that left at least 81 people injured and six dead in Istanbul on Sunday was a terrorist act, according to the official news agency Anadolu.
Oktay told reporters on Sunday, "We believe it to be a terrorist incident since an assailant, who we presume to be a woman, detonated the explosives."
Deadly Bombing in Istanbul
According to Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, CCTV video depicts a woman sitting on a seat for more than 40 minutes before getting up just before the explosion and leaving a bag or plastic bag behind.
Bozdag stated that the woman is being investigated by authorities and that Turkish security agencies believe she is the suspect in an interview with the privately owned A Haber news station. According to Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya, the explosion took place on Istiklal Street in Beyoglu Square, the center of Turkey's largest city.
Derya Yank, the agency's minister, said that the six fatalities included Yusuf Meydan and his daughter Ecrin, both employees of Turkey's Ministry of Family and Social Services, CNN reported. Fahrettin Koca, the minister of health for Turkey, tweeted on Sunday night that 39 of the 81 individuals hurt in the explosion had been released from the hospital after receiving all necessary medical care.
The media watchdog in Turkey has put in place short-term reporting limits that prohibit the use of up-close recordings and pictures of the explosion and its aftereffects.
It would be the largest bombing in Istanbul in in years if it were determined to be a terrorist attack. In December 2016, two bombs outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul killed 38 people and injured 155 more. The militant Kurdistan Workers Party claimed responsibility for the incident, accordint to The Independent.
Authorities Look For Suspects in Istanbul Explosion
The PKK has been labeled a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the US. Between 2015 and 2017, a series of bombs killed over 500 civilians and security personnel. Some of the assaults were carried out by Isis as well as Kurdish militants fighting against the Turkish government for more autonomy.
Following the bombings, Turkey launched military operations against Kurdish terrorists over its borders into northern Iraq and Syria while simultaneously repressing Kurdish politicians, journalists, and activists inside Turkey.
Moments after the pedestrian street, which is regularly filled with both visitors and residents, was bombed, footage from the incident on Istiklal Avenue's commercial strip showed people running from flames. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of Turkey, promised to punish offenders.
Per USA Today, businesses were closed and the avenue closed down after the bombing. Turkey's Supreme Council of Radio and Television previously prohibited news organizations and social media users from disseminating close-up images of blasts and the aftermath of explosions in reports.
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