The Erdogan government accuses the Kurds of carrying out the attack, which killed six people and injured more than 80
A corridor with more than a thousand Turkish flags runs through the heart of Istiklal. It descends from Taksim Square to Galatasary Square and in the middle of the route there is a point marked by the red of the flowers left by citizens and tourists at the place where on Sunday a bomb killed six people and injured over eighty. As this major thoroughfare of the city attempted to regain some normalcy, the investigation progressed and Ankara announced the arrest of the alleged terrorist and 45 other people involved in an operation linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Turks received condolences from around the world, but were clearly not accepting those from the United States because of their collaboration with the Kurdish militias in Northern Syria (YPG), the sister arm of the PKK.
Turkey has singled out the Kurds as the perpetrators of Istanbul’s first attack since 2017, but the PKK has released a statement through social networks to deny its involvement. “Our people know that we have no connection with this incident, that we never directly target civilians and that we do not accept any actions against civilians,” read the text of this group, which has been labeled a terrorist by Ankara, the European Union and the government. considered. United States. A similar message was launched from Syria by the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whose commander, Mazloum Abdi, said “we have nothing to do with the bomb”.
The Kurds’ reactions came after information from the Interior Ministry about the detained woman, Ahlan al Bashir, of Syrian origin, who allegedly confessed to being trained by the PKK to carry out this attack. Interior chief Suleyman Soylu explained that the alleged terrorist entered Turkey from Afrin, a Kurdish canton of Syria now controlled by the Turks, and was given instructions in neighboring Kobane. The local media broadcast images of the moment of the arrest.
In statements to the BBC, security expert Omer Ozkilzilcik explained that the PKK is “only trying to sow confusion by denying its participation” and, assessing possible reactions from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced that “it is possible that very soon we will see a new military operation in northern Syria because that has been the way to prevent terrorist attacks on Turkish soil since 2017.” It is one of the most repeated scenarios among Turkish analysts in a country that is on a permanent electoral campaign ahead of the June elections, in which Erdogan is running for president.
Istiklal once again became a procession of tourists and onlookers mingling with politicians and journalists near the attack site. Life found its way in the place where terror reminded Istanbul of the spate of attacks between 2015 and 2017. Phone in hand, everyone wanted a photo of the place, including ‘selfies’. Two Argentinian tourists still couldn’t believe what they had witnessed on Sunday afternoon, because “we were about a hundred yards away, the explosion was huge and we entered a nearby shopping arcade where the workers closed the blinds. Those were moments of great fear.”
Source: La Verdad
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