Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

Erdogan says Istanbul ‘attack’ blast kills six

By AFP
13 November 2022   |   7:39 pm
An explosion tore through a busy Istanbul shopping street on Sunday, killing six and wounding dozens in what Turkey's president said bore the signs of a "terror" attack.

Members the crime scene investigation police work after a strong explosion of unknown origin shook the busy shopping street of Istiklal in Istanbul, on November 13, 2022. – Turkish President condemned the “vile attack” that ripped through central Istanbul, and said it killed six people and wounded over 50 others, on November 13, 2022. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

An explosion tore through a busy Istanbul shopping street on Sunday, killing six and wounding dozens in what Turkey’s president said bore the signs of a “terror” attack.

Police cordoned off an area around Istiklal, where there were dense crowds on Sunday afternoon, and helicopters flew over the city centre as sirens sounded.

“I was 50-55 metres (yards) away, suddenly there was the noise of an explosion. I saw three or four people on the ground,” witness Cemal Denizci, 57, told AFP.

“People were running in panic. The noise was huge. There was black smoke,” he said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned what he called a “vile attack”.

“It might be wrong if we say for sure that this is terror but according to first signs… there is a smell of terror there,” Erdogan told a press conference.

Turkey’s vice president Fuat Oktay said: “We believe that it is a terrorist act carried out by an attacker, whom we consider to be a woman, exploding the bomb”.

Area targeted previously
Authorities offered few details and nobody immediately claimed responsibility, but Turkish cities in the past have been struck by Islamists and other groups.

Istiklal Avenue had been hit in the past during a campaign of attacks in 2015-2016 that targeted Istanbul and other cities including the capital Ankara.

Those bombings were mostly blamed on the Islamic State group and outlawed Kurdish militants, and killed nearly 500 people and injured more than 2,000.

Sunday’s explosion occurred shortly after 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) in the famous shopping street which is popular with locals and tourists.

According to images posted on social media at the time of the explosion, it was followed by flames and immediately triggered panic, with people running in all directions.

A large black crater was also visible in those images, as well as several bodies lying on the ground nearby.

According to an AFP correspondent on the scene, police established a large security cordon to prevent access to the damaged area for fear of a second explosion.

Istiklal, in the historic district of Beyoglu, is one of the most famous arteries of Istanbul, entirely pedestrianised for 1.4 kilometres (nearly a mile).

Criss-crossed by an old tramway, lined with shops and restaurants, it is used by large crowds during the weekend.

In the neighbouring district of Galata, many stores closed early while some passers-by, who came running from the site of the explosion, had tears in their eyes.

A massive deployment of security forces barred all entrances, while a heavy deployment of rescue workers and police were visible.

A reaction came quickly from Greece, which “unequivocally” condemned the blast and expressed condolences to the government and people of Turkey.

In this article

0 Comments