6 dead and over 81 injured, including two in critical condition, the scale of the initial losses caused by the explosion that occurred in the middle of Istiklal Street in Istanbul on Sunday afternoon, and while the investigation launched by the authorities continues, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hinted at a “smell of terrorism”, with a woman suspected to be behind him.
“Istiklal” is considered to be one of the most important streets that Istanbul is known for, and apart from being a major destination for many tourists and citizens in Turkey, it is known as the area that “continuously pulsates with pedestrians”, starting from its square and ends with the “Galata Tower”.
According to the first assessments announced by the governor of Istanbul, Ali Yerlikaya, the explosion occurred at 16:20 CET.
Video recordings posted by users on social media showed how flames suddenly rose from a spot where many civilians gather in front of a shop.
And this happened while the “independence” was very crowded, due to considerations related to the Sunday holiday in the countryside, and to the heat that drove many to leave their homes.
Erdogan released a video statement in which he said, “We can’t say for sure that it was a terrorist attack, but as far as I know there is a smell. There is a woman who participated in the incident.”
The Turkish president used the term “treacherous attack”, adding that “efforts to control Turkey and the Turkish nation through terrorism will not achieve their goal today and tomorrow, as they did yesterday”.
In turn, the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation, while the Minister of Justice, Bekir Bouzada, said that eight prosecutors and their deputies had been appointed.
In parallel, media close to the government reported that the interior and justice ministers, Suleyman Soylu and Bekir Bozdag, had interrupted their program and had headed to Istanbul after the news of the attack.
“more context”
Police, health, fire, disaster and emergency management teams were dispatched to the scene and Turkish media reported that “counter-terrorism units” had closed Istiklal Street, due to the possibility of a second explosion.
Two hours after the bombing, the sounds of ambulances and firefighters continued to resound in all districts of Istanbul, especially those close to the Beyoglu district, which leads to it.
Footage circulated on social media showed bodies lying in the street, and as more footage circulated, Turkey’s media regulator, RTUK, has imposed a ban on sharing images of the explosion or other reports, except government statements.
A statement from the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation into the incident. In addition, the Istanbul Criminal Court issued a ban on broadcasting all audiovisual news and social media sites related to the incident.
Turkey has previously been subjected to a series of deadly bombings between 2015 and 2017 by ISIS and banned Kurdish groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is classified on terrorist lists.
At the end of 2016, a double bombing took place in front of the Besiktas club stadium in Istanbul, near the famous Taksim square, killing dozens of civilians and injuring hundreds, as well as killing police and security forces , who were present in the vicinity of the accident at the time.
The two explosions occurred in sequence, about 45 seconds apart, near the Vodafone Arena, the stadium of the Besiktas football club, in the European part of the city.
Soon after, another attack hit a nightclub in Istanbul at dawn on the first day of New Year’s Day 2017, and was carried out by an “ISIS” affiliated gunman, killing more than 40 people, including more than 16 foreigners.
“political messages”
Meanwhile, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said, “No attack will be able to break Turkey’s determination and resistance,” he said.
Kalin shared his post on his Twitter account, adding, “May God have mercy on our brothers who lost their lives in the blast that took place on Istiklal Street, and speedy recovery for the injured. The event is looked at in many ways and it will be revealed in all its dimensions. No attack will be able to break Turkey’s determination” and its resistance”.
In turn, the leader of the “Republican People’s Party”, the largest opposition party, Kemal Kılışdaroğlu wrote, “May God have mercy on our citizens who lost their lives in the Istiklal Street explosion and a speedy recovery for the injured”.
The same goes for the rest of the politicians in the government and his opponents, such as the leader of the Good Party, Meral Aksnar, and the leader of the “Future Party”, Ahmed Davutoglu, and others.
The head of the “Turkish Red Crescent” Kerem Kinik also shared a message via “Twitter” stating that after the explosion “blood products were sent to hospitals surrounding the regional blood center of the Red Crescent in kits you may need.”
He added: “There is no urgent need for blood. At present, we wish mercy for those who have lost their lives and a speedy recovery for the wounded.”
Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, also shared another message, announcing that “it is necessary to help the police and health teams, and stay away from sites that can cause fear and panic.”
And the suspicious woman?
So far many details relating to the bloody incident have not been revealed, but journalists and media outlets have spoken of “a woman suspected of being behind the attack”.
Many social media accounts have posted a photo of a woman wearing camouflage pants and a veil and carrying a big truth on her back. The photo was also published by the opposition site “Halk TV”, and the newspaper “Sabah”, close to the government, reported it.
Here is a woman suspected of taking part in the Istiklal blast/attack according to HalkTV and OdaTV reports
She wears camouflage pants and a veil but her neck is visible.
Previous footage showed a bag exploded. Not a suicide bomb pic.twitter.com/CZwTsnG82W
— Ragip Soylu (@ragipsoylu) November 13, 2022
Commenting on the photo, Sabah newspaper said, ‘A person who is regarded as a female suspect arrives and leaves a purse or bag from the bank. The suspect walks away after planting the bomb. The purse remains unattended on the seat for a while.’ . After a few minutes, an explosion occurred. This woman appears in She is the suspect in the explosion.”
He added: “Police teams closed the road and Taksim Square to cars and pedestrians. Although crossing the road was not allowed, the Taksim mosque was also closed. A helicopter was also seen conducting an aerial inspection for security reasons”.
Traffic was temporarily halted on some roads in Taksim area due to the explosion, and the Taksim Cumhuriyet Street Tunnel, towards Sisli Tarlabasi, and Onkapani (Atatürk) Bridge towards Taksim were temporarily closed to traffic .
On the other hand, the opposition website ‘Hulk TV’ said that “according to the first conclusions, it appears that the explosion was not suicidal”.
He added: “A bag placed in the corner of one of the large flower pots on Istiklal Street was reflected in the surveillance camera footage, and it appears in the images that the person who placed the package is a woman.”
“The beating heart of Istanbul”
Turkish political researcher Hisham Gunay believes that “the location of the bombing has great implications”, explaining that “Taksim Square is the beating heart of Istanbul, while Istiklal Street is the lifeblood and busiest tourist destination”.
And Junay continues on the “Al-Hurra” website: “Today is Sunday and the time of the explosion is at four in the afternoon and twenty minutes, and it is one of the times when tourists frequent this place for the purpose of wandering around and shop.”
“It is very clear that all these points were taken into account by those who carried out the bombing before it hit Turkey economically, especially since this bombing will undoubtedly affect the movement of tourists to Turkey.”
Furthermore, Junay adds, “The executing party (whoever it is) wanted the news to circulate more on social media, to cause more noise and increase fear among citizens and tourists, and put pressure on the administration and the government.”
The political researcher believes that “from this point of view, the investigation will reveal the perpetrator.”
Until then, “we will see if the government responds to this threat. If the PKK is behind it, then it will be a strong response to the government through a military operation in the areas where this organization is concentrated”.
“international convictions”
The US embassy in Turkey has expressed regret over the blast and offered condolences to the families of the victims, while the French consulate in Istanbul has warned its citizens not to be in public places.
In turn, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Jordan and Egypt have expressed their condemnation of the bombings.
The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement that it “condemned in the strongest terms the shelling that hit the Taksim area in central Istanbul, which left a number of civilians dead and injured.” Stressing that he “stands with Turkey against this cowardly act”.
In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned the bombing in central Istanbul, describing it as “a cowardly terrorist act that killed innocent people”.
For its part, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Istanbul and offer our condolences to the families of the victims, the friendly Turkish people and the Turkish Republic.”
