Latest updates on İstanbul bombing: 46 suspects in custody, PKK denies involvement

Photo: AA

The police have detained 46 people during raids on 21 separate addresses in İstanbul in relation to yesterday's (November 13) bombing that killed six people and wounded 81 others in the popular tourist area of Taksim.

The detainees include the person suspected of planting the bomb, identified as Ahlam Albashir from Syria.

She had crossed into Türkiye illegally from the Idlib-Afrin area in Syria's northwest, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said early today.

Afrin is directly controlled by the army of Türkiye and its allied groups. Türkiye also has a significant military presence in Idlib.

The minister said the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was responsible for the bombing, citing information obtained from technical surveillance and interrogations of the detainees. 

Photo: AA

Live updates

Lawyer falsely accused of carrying out bombing files complaint

12.12 p.m. Jiyan Tosun, a Kurdish lawyer received threats following fake news spread by a far-right party member on social media. She spent most of the night at the courthouse, and filed a complaint early in the morning.

➟ Read the full article

"We don't accept US condolence"

1.18 p.m. Speaking to reporters on İstiklal Avenue, where the bombing took place, Soylu said the attack was planned in Kobanî, a Kurdish town in Syria under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which Türkiye sees as an extension of the PKK.

"With a phone call from Kobanî, she hid in a workshop in Esenler [district]. After detonating the bomb, she went to Esenler again. She then went to Küçükçekmece. When we caught the person who brought her and interrogated him, we learned her street. Then we located and captured her. We also caught the person who ordered her killing," he said.

The plan was to kill the woman so that the security units would not be able to solve the incident, said Soylu.

The minister also lashed out at the US, which supports the SDF, saying, "We don't accept the condolences of the US Embassy. We can't be allies with those who send money [to Kurdish groups in Syria] from their senator's offices."

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement on Sunday, saying, "The United States strongly condemns the act of violence that took place today in Istanbul, Türkiye."

İstiklal Avenue reopened to pedestrian traffic

Photo: AA

1.20 p.m. The authorities reopened İstiklal Avenue to pedestrian traffic early in the morning. The benches are being removed from the street after it was found that the bomb was planted under a bench. The avenue is crowded as usual.

➟ Read the full article

Twenty-six people are still under treatment

1.28 p.m. Among the 81 people who were injured in the bombing, 55 have been discharged from hospitals while 26 are still under treatment, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has announced. Five people have been in intensive care since yesterday, and two of them are in criticial condition, he added.

Opposition to file complaint against social media restrictions

2.11 p.m. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has announced that it will file a criminal complaint against the public officials responsible for yesterday's bandwidth restrictions on social media platforms.

Many people used VPN connections to follow the news on social media platforms. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram were affected by the restrictions, which were lifted in the early hours of today.

CLICK - Türkiye imposes strict restrictions on media coverage, social media following Taksim explosion 

CHP deputy Gürsel Tekin said the restrictions were "unconstitutional."

"An explosion occurred at the center of the largest city of the country. People were killed and injured. Everyone is curious, but the public doesn't have the right to receive news about that. Why? Because the BTK [Information Technologies and Communications Authority] chair doesn't see it appropriate. But he shares his condolence message on Twitter," he said.

In addition to bandwidth restrictions on social media, the authorities also issued a broadcast ban and prevented most reporters from entering İstiklal Avenue, where the explosion took place.

Who were the people killed in the bombing?

3.13 p.m. Two people and their daughters and a married couple were killed in the bombing. One person who were killed with his daughter was a civil servant at the Ministry of Family and Social Services.

➟ Read the full article

PKK denies involvement in the attack

3.19 p.m. While the government said the perpetrator of the bombing was linked to the PKK, the group denied that in a statement today. It said it had no relations whatsoever to the incident and offered condolences to the people who lost their lives, according to the statement quoted by the Fırat News Agency (ANF).

Later in the day, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led group that Türkiye sees as an extention of the PKK, also denied involvement in the attack.

Our live coverage has concluded. You can follow the latest developments about the bombing here.

(VK)