A bombing suspect has been taken into custody hours after an explosion in Istanbul, Turkey, claimed the lives of at least six people, news agency AFP reported. According to the state-run Anadolu agency, Suleyman Soylu, Turkey's interior minister, stated on Monday that the device on Istanbul's Istiklal Street is thought to have been put by the individual.


Soylu blamed the bombing on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). “According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organisation is responsible,” he was quoted by AFP. 






Earlier, Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, warned that the bombing "smells like terrorism." Additionally, he and the vice president of the nation, Faut Oktay, claimed that a "woman" bomber was behind the assault.


In the event that occurred on Sunday, an explosion shook the popular pedestrian thoroughfare and caused six deaths and 81 injuries.


As paramedics and police hurried to the scene, video footage that leaked online shortly after the explosion showed hundreds of people running from the street as black smoke enveloped the area. As usual, the location was filled with shoppers, families, and visitors.


Several individuals were observed laying on the ground after the explosion, while others fled as parents grabbed their children in their arms.


Authorities later revealed that two of the victims were a Turkish government ministry employee and his daughter. According to news agency Reuters, five injured people were taken to a hospital's intensive care unit, with two of them being in a critical condition.


Bekir Bozdag, Turkey's justice minister, was quoted by Anadolu as stating that a woman had waited on a seat in the street for more than 40 minutes before departing moments before the explosion, suggesting that the device was either timed to go off or was detonated from a distance.


Numerous countries, including the Ukraine, Britain, Italy, Egypt, and Greece, have sent messages of outrage for the incident and sympathy for the victims.


As of yet, no one has taken credit for the attack.


In December 2016, twin bombs occurred at a soccer stadium in Istanbul, resulting in up to 38 fatalities and 155 injuries. Then, a PKK faction that has been labelled a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and the European Union (EU) claimed responsibility.


(With Inputs From Agencies)