Emergency vehicles rushed to the scene on Istiklal Avenue, a popular thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants that leads to the iconic Taksim Square. In one video posted online, a loud bang could be heard and a flash seen as pedestrians turned and ran away.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the blast a "treacherous attack" and said its perpetrators would be punished.
He did not say who was behind the attack but said it had the "smell of terror" without offering details and also adding that was not certain yet. The president said investigations were ongoing by the police and the governor’s office, including reviewing footage of the area.
Erdogan said six people were killed. Vice President Fuat Oktay later updated the wounded toll to 81, with two in serious condition, and also said it appeared to be a terrorist attack.
Numerous foreign governments offered their condolences, including neighboring Greece with which relations are tense. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was "shocked and saddened by the news of the heinous attack."
Turkey was hit by a string of bombings between 2015 and 2017 that left more than 500 civilians and security personnel dead. Some of the attacks were perpetrated by the Islamic State group, while others were executed by Kurdish militants who have led a decadeslong insurgency against the Turkish state for increased autonomy or independence.
Turkey has been fighting the militants — known as the PKK and considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union — in the country's southeast for years.
Following the string of attacks, Turkey launched cross-border military operations into Syria and northern Iraq against Kurdish militants, while also cracking down on Kurdish politicians, journalists and activists at home through broad terror laws that critics say are a way to silence dissent.
Turkey’s media watchdog imposed temporary restrictions on reporting on Sunday's explosion — a move that bans the use of close-up videos and photos of the blast and its aftermath. The Supreme Council of Radio and Television has imposed similar bans in the past, following attacks and accidents.
Access to some content on Twitter and other social media sites, such as videos, was limited.
From RIA Novosti:
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
Death toll from Istanbul explosion rises to 81
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that the number of people injured in the explosion in the center of Istanbul has risen to 81 people.
The explosion occurred on Sunday afternoon on the pedestrian tourist street Istiklal in the center of Istanbul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously claimed six dead and 53 injured.
"We have 81 victims. The condition of two is serious," the vice president told reporters.
Video from Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] In the center of Istanbul, a terrorist attack on a crowded pedestrian street.
A suicide bomber blew himself up among passers-by. At least 4 people were killed and many people were injured.
There is a 90% chance that the suicide bomber is associated with ISIS. As for the customers, let's see what the Turkish secret services say.
| The Times of Israel adds: |
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...’s justice minister, Bekir Bozdag, told pro-government broadcaster A Haber that Sherlocks were focusing on a woman who sat on a bench by the scene of the blast for about 40 minutes. The explosion took place just minutes after she left. He said her identity was not yet clear, nor was it clear what group might be behind the attack.
| And from Shabelle Media, sharing the report from Hurriyet: |
"Initial assessments showed that four were killed and 38 others were maimed in the blast," said Governor Ali Yerlikaya. The chief prosecutor’s office in Istanbul has appointed five prosecutors to investigate the deadly blast.
The
| Update from the Times of Israel at 2:15 a.m. ET: |
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his vice president, Fuat Oktay, had earlier said that “a woman” was responsible for the attack but it was not immediately clear if the female suspect was the one arrested.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told pro-government broadcaster A Haber earlier that investigators were focusing on a woman who sat on a bench by the scene of the blast for about 40 minutes. The explosion took place just minutes after she left.
Erdogan called the blast a “treacherous attack” and vowed that its perpetrators would be punished. Oktay put the wounded toll to 81, with two in serious condition.
In additional comments to Anadolu, Soylu accused the PKK of being behind the attack. “According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organization is responsible,” Soylu said.
The bomb ripped through the bustling pedestrian avenue in the heart of Istanbul on Sunday, killing six people, wounding several dozen and leaving panicked people to flee the fiery blast or huddle in cafes and shops.
#SONDAKİKA
— Odatv (@odatv) November 13, 2022
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