President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “vile act” that occurred after a powerful explosion of unknown origin jolted the crowded commercial area of Istiklal in Istanbul on Sunday, leaving six people dead and several others injured. He added that the early indicators point to a “terror” strike.
“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 televised press conference.
“The relevant units of our state are working to find the perpetrators… behind this vile attack,” he said.
On Sunday afternoon, there were a lot of people in the area, so police fenced it off while helicopters flew over the city’s core and 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. The noise was so strong, almost deafening,” he said.
As they left the area, parents gathered their kids in their arms.
No explanation for the explosion’s cause has been provided by the authorities.
A big security cordon has been set up by the police to bar entry to the damaged area out of concern for a second explosion, according to an AFP video journalist on the site.
All entrances were equally barred by a sizable security presence, and it was clear that both police and rescue personnel were heavily deployed.
The explosion happened in the well-known Istiklal shopping district, which is well-liked by both locals and tourists, shortly after 4:00 pm (1300 GMT).
Images shared on social media at the time of the explosion show that it was accompanied by flames and that people instantly ran in all directions out of fright.
These pictures showed a massive dark crater and a number of bodies on the ground nearby.
Istiklal Street had previously been attacked during an attack campaign that targeted Istanbul in 2015–2016.
These attacks, which were claimed by the Islamic State organisation, left more than 2,000 people injured and almost 500 dead.
