A total of 50 people have been arrested so far after the attack that killed six and injured 81 on a street in central Istanbul last Sunday, the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday.
The Turkish government attributed the attack to a Syrian Kurdish group, which immediately denied any involvement.
“The number of detainees in connection with the attack is already 50. No terrorist organization will succeed in attacking Turkey,” said Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag.
The prime suspect has been identified as Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian citizen accused of planting the bomb in Istiklal, Istanbul’s well-known shopping and tourist street.
She was arrested on Monday, ten hours after the attack, when she tried to enter Greece.
The 50 detainees are being interrogated at various police stations in Istanbul, various local media reported to the EFE news agency.
Despite no details of their identities being provided, at least two other Syrians appear among the names that appeared in the ‘media’.
The government blames the attack on the Syrian Kurdish militia Popular Protection Units (YPG), which is considered terrorist by Turkey but is supported by the United States in its fight against the “jihadist” group Islamic State (IS).
For the Turkish authorities, the YPG in Syria is an extension of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurdish guerrilla group considered terrorist by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.
Ankara has accused Washington of financing and supplying military equipment to the YPG.
The Syrian Kurdish militia, the main formation of the Syrian Democratic Forces, installed in the north and east of the belligerent country, and the PKK have already denied any involvement in the attack.
The presidents of the United States, Joe Biden, and Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met today as part of the G20 summit taking place in Indonesia.
The official Turkish agency Anadolu indicated that the chiefs of staff of the armed forces of Turkey and the United States, Yasar Guler and Mark Milley, respectively, would today telephone to analyze Sunday’s attack and discuss strengthening the bilateral military relationship of the two countries. , both members of NATO.
Public television TRT reported that 31 of the 81 injured in the attack remain in hospital, with two in critical condition.
Source: DN
