After attack in Istanbul: Syrian woman is said to be an assassin

Turkey blames a Syrian who is said to have been trained by militant Kurds for the attack in Istanbul. She was arrested. Six people were killed in the blast and 31 are still hospitalized.

The day after the attack on Istanbul’s Istiklal shopping street, the authorities in Turkey provided more information about a suspect who had been arrested. The police said it was a Syrian woman who had been trained by militant Kurds.

The state broadcaster TRT published a video of security forces showing a woman lying on the ground and handcuffed. Images had previously been shown of how a woman apparently dropped a package at the crime scene.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu also blamed militant Kurds from Syria for the attack. The order came from the northern Syrian city of Kobani, he said. There, the Turkish armed forces have repeatedly taken action against the Syrian-Kurdish militia YPG in recent years. This is viewed by the government in Ankara as a terrorist organization and offshoot of the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK. The arrested woman had also traveled through the northern Syrian region of Afrin, Soylu said. In addition to her, about 20 other people were arrested.

31 injured in hospital

According to the state-affiliated broadcaster TRT, Soylu announced retaliation for the attack. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday: “Our people should be sure that the perpetrators of the Istiklal Street incident will be punished as they deserve by exposing all the background to the incident.”

The busy Istiklal shopping street, where the attack took place, is popular with locals and tourists alike. A fireball, people covered in blood and shattered shop windows can be seen in pictures and videos. Six people were killed and more than 80 others were injured. 31 injured were still being treated in the hospital on Monday, two of them were therefore in critical condition.

There had already been a suicide attack on the shopping street in March 2016. At that time, five people were killed. The Turkish government blamed the IS terrorist militia. However, the group did not admit to the crime at the time.

Conflict claimed tens of thousands of lives

The PKK – which is now suspected – is on the terrorist lists in Turkey, Europe and the USA. The conflict, which has been going on since 1984, has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. A ceasefire failed in the summer of 2015.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was shocked by the recent attack: “These are terrible images that reach us from the heart of Istanbul,” he explained. “In these difficult hours, our thoughts are with the victims of terror and their families.”

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also expressed her sympathy: “My thoughts are with the people who just wanted to stroll along the Istiklal shopping street on a Sunday and have now fallen victim to a heavy explosion.” US President Joe Biden’s spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, condemned the “act of violence”: “We stand side by side with our NATO ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism.”