ISTANBUL – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday condemned the “vile attack” that ripped through central Istanbul, and which he said killed six people and wounded dozens of others.
“The relevant units of our state are working to find the perpetrators...behind this vile attack,” Erdogan told a televised press conference.
It was earlier reported that the explosion occurred shortly after 4.00 pm (1300 GMT) in the famous Istiklal shopping street, which is popular with locals and tourists.
According to images posted on social media at the time of the explosion, it was accompanied 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.
Istiklal Street had already been hit in the past during a campaign of attacks in 2015-2016 that targeted Istanbul.
Claimed by the Islamic State group, those attacks killed nearly 500 people and injured more than 2,000. – AFP, November 14, 2022
