At least six people have been killed and 81 injured after an explosion in central Istanbul that officials described as an apparent act of terrorism. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the explosion on the busy Istiklal Street around 4:20 p.m. local time was caused by a “heinous” bombing. He said the blast “reeks of terrorism”, although he said investigations were continuing. The country’s vice president Fuat Oktai later updated the number of injured to 81 and also said it appeared to be a terrorist attack. Officials said a woman may have played a role in the explosion, although no one has claimed responsibility for the blast. Authorities also said a government ministry employee and his young daughter were among the dead. Five people are in intensive care at the hospital, two of them in critical condition.
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“Efforts to defeat Turkey and the Turkish people through terrorism will fail today as they did yesterday and as they will fail again tomorrow,” Erdogan told a news conference. “Our people can rest assured that the culprits behind the attack will be punished as they deserve. “It would be wrong to say that this is undoubtedly a terrorist attack, but the initial developments and the initial information from my commander is that it smacks of terrorism.” Security and ambulances at the scene after an explosion on Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue / AP Footage posted online showed flames and a loud bang as the pedestrians turned and fled. “When I heard the explosion, I was petrified, people froze, looking at each other. Then people started running away. What else can you do,” Mehmet Akous, 45, a restaurant worker in Istiklal, told Reuters news agency. “My relatives called me, they know I work in Istiklal. I reassured them,” he said. The Turkish Red Crescent said that blood was taken to nearby hospitals after the explosion. Condemnation of the attack and condolences for the victims have been expressed by many countries, including Greece, Egypt, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Pakistan. European Council President Charles Michel said on Twitter that he sent his condolences to the victims after the “terrible news”. The boulevard is a busy thoroughfare popular with tourists and locals, lined with shops and restaurants. Turkey was hit by a series of bombings between 2015 and 2017 that left more than 500 civilians and security personnel dead. Some of the attacks were carried out by Islamic State, while others were carried out by Kurdish fighters who have led a decade-long insurgency against the Turkish state for increased autonomy or independence.
