Turkey announces the arrest of the suspect of the terrorist attack in Istanbul

MADRID, 14 (EUROPA PRESS)

The Turkish authorities have announced in the early hours of this Monday that they have arrested the woman suspected of having perpetrated the suicide attack on the busy Istiklal avenue in Istanbul, Turkey.

Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu has informed the media that the person who allegedly planted the bomb that caused an explosion that has left at least six dead and 81 injured has been arrested by the Istanbul Police Department.

Soylu has also linked the alleged attacker - about whom no further information has emerged - with the Kurdish guerrilla Party of the Kurdistan Workers (PKK).

"The person who threw the bomb has been arrested. The PKK/PYD terrorist organization is within the framework of our findings. In the near future, we will show them a reward where those who caused us this pain can experience more and more pain." , Soylu has stated in statements collected by the TRT television channel.

The leader of the ministerial portfolio has indicated, after conveying his condolences, that in recent years his country has managed to repel nearly 200 attacks. However, he has described this event as a "shame".

"For approximately 6 years, we have not experienced an effective event, a terrorist incident like the one we experienced last night in Istanbul. Our nation is ashamed," he said, after acknowledging that they are "facing a great test." "We have clashes in the mountains, on the borders, in the city."

"The face of terror is bitter, but we will continue this fight to the end no matter what the cost. Especially the insincerity of our so-called allies, who hide all the terrorists who appear to be our friends in their own country, or give life to terrorists in the areas that they occupy, in the areas that they rule, and sending them money from their own senates, is obviously disingenuous," Soylu said.

A suicide attack perpetrated this Sunday on Istiklal Avenue has caused the death of six people, including two children. In addition, 81 individuals have been injured, of which 50 have already been discharged and two others are in serious condition.

Turkey's vice president, Fuat Oktay, confirmed that it was an attack in which a woman, a "kamikaze", detonated the explosive.

Istanbul has been hit by several explosions in the past, including a suicide bombing in Istiklal in 2016 by a suspected Islamic State member that killed five people.

In the same year, Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militias, considered by Turkey to be a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for a bomb attack that killed 38 people outside a football stadium in the area. of Besiktas in the center of Istanbul.