Turkey says Syria’s Kurds behind blast that killed 6 people
ISTANBUL/ARBIL: Turkey blamed Kurdish militants on Monday for an explosion that killed six people in Istanbul and police detained 47 people including a Syrian woman suspected of planting the bomb.
No group has claimed responsibility so far for Sunday’s blast on the busy pedestrian Istiklal Avenue, and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) its denied involvement.
The explosion wounded 81 people, sending debris flying into the air and hundreds of shoppers, tourists and families fleeing from the scene.
Interior minister Suleyman Soylu said the PKK and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia were responsible for the blast, an incident that recalled for Turks similar attacks in years past.
Ankara says the YPG is a wing of the PKK. The Ushas supported the YPG in the conflict in
Syria, stoking friction between Nato allies. As international condemnation of the attack poured in, Soylu, a fierce critic of Washington, likened US condolences for the victims to “the murderer arriving as one of the first at the scene of the crime”.
In a statement on its website, the PKK denied involvement and said it would not attack civilians. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi denied involvement on Twitter.
Police named the suspected bomber as Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian national, who was detained in an overnight raid.
Iran launches missile on Kurdish groups in Iraq
Iran launched new cross-border missile and drone strikes Monday against Iraq-based Kurdish opposition groups it accuses of stoking unrest at home, killing at least one person according to local authorities.
Iran has been rocked by almost two months of protests sparked by the death of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini.