A bomb that rocked Istanbul on 13 November, 2022, has left eight people dead and dozens injured, Turkish authorities have confirmed.
According to official reports from Istanbul, the blast that happened at 1620hrs Istanbul time on a shopping street in Taksim Square claimed six lives and left 81 people injured.
Turkey’s Prime Minister, Fuat Oktay, stated that the blast was believed to have been a terrorist attack which had been carried out by an unidentified female suspect. According to the Justice Minister, the female suspect had sat on a bench in the Taksim Sqaure for over 40 minutes and left just minutes before the blast occurred.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also condemned the attack. Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Erdogan termed the attack as ‘vile’ and one that had ‘the smell of terror’.
Suspects under custody
On Monday morning, it was reported that the Turkish police had 22 suspects in custody over the bombing.
Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu told the media on Monday that they suspected the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was responsible for Sunday’s blast.
“Our assessment is that the order for the deadly terror attack came from Ayn al-Arab in northern Syria,” he said, adding that they would retaliate against those responsible.
So, far, however, not group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The PKK, which is the group authorities suspect to be behind the attack, is a militant group in Turkey that seeks for the independence of the Kurdish state within Turkey. The group emerged in 1978 as one that fought for the rights of the Turkey Kurds minority group. However, the group has been declared as a terrorist group by the EU and the U.S. The organization is known for using violent tactics, beginning a full-on insurgency against Turkish authority in 1984. Over 40,000 people have been killed since the conflict began.
