On Sunday (November 13), an explosion occurred in Istanbul's famous pedestrian street İstiklal, killing 6 people and injuring 81 people. President of Türkiye. Erdogan called the bomb attack an act of terrorism. Erdogan delivered a speech shortly before leaving for Bali to attend the G20 summit, saying it was a "cendiary attack" and added that "the perpetrators will be punished."
Erdogan said the investigation was still ongoing, but preliminary reports showed that it was an act of terrorism. "The first information provided by the governor of Istanbul shows that it is a terrorist operation," he said. Turkish Vice President Oktai said a female attacker detonated a bomb on a busy shopping street. Whoever is behind these events, they will be found, even if they go to the other side of the world. ”
Istanbul Governor Ali Yelikaya said on Twitter that the explosion occurred at 4:20 pm local time on Sunday (13:20 GMT). Although the city center of Istanbul has been targeted by Kurdish separatists and radical Islamists recently, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The official Anadolu news agency The agency said five prosecutors had been assigned to investigate the explosion. Video posted online at the time of the attack showed frightened people running around trying to find cover in nearby stores while a fireball rolled overhead from the far part of the street. Customers who had previously strolled in the afternoon sun grabbed each other in fear and turned to run away. Mehmet Akus, 45, who works in a restaurant on the street, said, "When I heard the explosion, I was stunned, people were stunned, looking at each other. Then people started running away. What else can you do besides running?" "My relatives called me and they knew I was working in İstiklal and I comforted them. ”
CCTV footage at the time of the attack released by Reuters showed that dozens of pedestrians were shuttled between concrete benches and surrounding shops at a crowded point in the busy street. As the smoke cleared, at least four motionless bodies could be seen on the ground, and the knocked people tried to get up and run away. Another video showed that the explosion was located in front of a large Mango clothing store, with some people scattered around the explosion site, and some people ran to help. Ambulances, fire trucks and police were all at the scene.
When the security department blocked the Taksim Square. During street sections of Square, families and tourists attempted to leave quickly near the cordon near the explosion site. Turkey's Supreme Council of Radio and Television (RTÜK) temporarily bans reporting on the explosion, prohibiting broadcasters from broadcasting the moments or subsequent consequences of the explosion, "to avoid creating fear, panic and confusion in society and potentially serving the purposes of terrorist organizations."
Meanwhile, online data shows that Turkish authorities have restricted their efforts to follow-up attacks, including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and F. Access to social media platforms including acebook comes after the Turkish parliament passed a new law that completely bans “false information” under which social media users or journalists accused of violating the law could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
Turkey’s Supreme Council for Radio and Television (RTÜK) warned citizens not to spread misinformation about the attack, “We are closely watching developments.” Please do not rely on information of unknown origin. Let us get information from reliable sources, and we should not spread false information without our knowledge. ”
İstiklal Avenue is a crowded street that is popular with tourists and locals, lined by shops and restaurants. Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu of the opposition Republican Party (CHP), visited İstiklal Avenue after the explosion, which took place less than 200 meters from the Republican Party’s Istanbul headquarters. Imamoglu said, “I received the message from the fire brigade on İstiklal Street.With the cooperation of the police, they continued to investigate the area. Our healthcare workers are working hard, too. I hope God once again mercy on those who have lost their lives, and I hope the injured will recover soon. ”
