“We strongly condemn any acts of terrorism that target the country and people of Turkey,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said on Sunday.
“We stand by the friendly and brotherly government and people of the Turkish Republic,” he added, wishing a speedy recovery to those injured in the tragic incident.
Explosions rocked a busy pedestrian street in central Istanbul on Sunday in an incident President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled an attack “smells like terrorism”.
The area, located in the Beyoğlu district of Turkey’s largest city, was as usual crowded with shoppers, tourists and families on weekends.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters on Monday that the suspect in custody was “the person who left the bomb that caused the explosion” on a busy thoroughfare in Turkey’s largest city.
Soylu blamed the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for Sunday’s blast on Istiklal Street, saying, “In our assessment, the orders for the deadly terrorist attack were directed at Ain al-Istiqlal in northern Syria. “It’s from Arab,” he said. headquarters.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the explosion.
