Istanbul blast kills 6, injures hundreds

• Six people were killed and 81 injured.
• A bomb occurred on a Taksim Square commercial street.
• Blast was a woman’s terrorist act.

Six people were killed and 81 injured in an explosion in central Istanbul, according to authorities.

Sunday at 13:20 GMT, a bomb occurred on a Taksim Square commercial street.

Interior minister: Suspect arrested.

Vice-President Fuat Oktay stated the blast was a woman’s terrorist act.

President Erdogan promised to prosecute the criminals.

In Istanbul, he condemned the “vile attack” and warned “fear is in the air.”

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told Turkish media a woman sat on a bench for 40 minutes before departing.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu claimed police had detained a suspect in the bombing and blamed the PKK.

The PKK wants a Kurdish state in Turkey. EU, US consider it a terrorist group.

No one has claimed responsibility.

A government minister and his daughter were among the victims, tweeted Derya Yanik.

BBC correspondent Orla Guerin reported a substantial police presence on cordoned-off Istiklal Street. Helicopters circled as ambulances passed.

She claimed several businesses on the normally busy street seemed stunned, and the occurrence shocked many in the city.

Hayat was in an internet café on Istiklal Street when the explosion happened.

“I saw people running and wounded people heading to hospital,” she claimed. “There was chaos.”

Cemal Denizci was 50m from the detonation when it happened. “It smoked. Almost deafening sounds “AFP.

Eyup, 20, told the BBC that after the assault, Istanbul locals are “terrified” and may avoid crowded areas like Taksim.

After the tragedy, condolences flowed into Turkey.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US stands “shoulder-to-shoulder” with its Nato ally in “countering terrorism.”

“We feel your anguish… We are with you in the battle against terrorism,” Macron tweeted in Turkish.

“The grief of the friendly Turkish people is our pain,” tweeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Pakistan, Italy, and Greece showed support.

Istiklal, a busy shopping area, was targeted by a suicide bomber in 2016.

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