The explosion on one of the most popular streets in Istanbul could have been carried out by a woman, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said . “At the moment, we have lost 6 people, 4 of whom were at the epicenter of the incident. We have 81 wounded. Two of them are heavy. We believe that this is a terrorist act that occurred as a result of a bomb explosion by an attacker, a woman.”
According to the Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag, the woman sat on the bench for 40-45 minutes, left her bag, left, and after a while there was an explosion. “All data on this woman is currently being studied. Her name is still unknown,” Bozdag said. He also said that it was not a suicide bomber, she is now wanted. “There are two possibilities. Either this sack or sack has a mechanism inside it will explode on its own or someone will blow it up from afar, there is an investigation. (…) What kind of terrorist organization is still unknown, it will be established as a result of the investigation. There is no reliable data, except for the wreckage at the crime scene."
Turkish media HalkTV and OdaTV also publish a photo of a woman who is suspected of committing an explosion. The photo shows a woman wearing camouflage pants and a hijab. However, as the head of the Turkish bureau of the Middle East Eye, Racep Soylu, notes, the hijab is not worn correctly, as it does not cover the woman's neck. The authorities have not yet commented on this photo.
The explosion in Istanbul occurred around 16:20 local time (the same time Moscow time) on Istiklal Street. The Istanbul Prosecutor General's Office qualified the explosion as a terrorist act. TV channels were temporarily banned from broadcasting from the site of the explosion. The territory is cordoned off.
