Ankara: Turkish police announced on Monday that they have arrested Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian woman, for planting the bomb that killed six people and injured 81 in central Istanbul.
The blast targeted the beating heart of Istanbul, the main city and economic capital of Turkey on the busy Istiklal Street at 4:20 pm on Sunday, November 13, 2022.
1200 security cameras inspected
In the statement made by the Istanbul Police Department on Monday, it was stated that a study was carried out on the terrorist attack that took place on Taksim Istiklal Street on Sunday, November 13.
In the statement, it was reported that 1200 security cameras were examined, which saw the routes of the suspect woman who planted the bomb at the scene, and it was noted that she left the scene by taxi and went to Esenler district.
Suspect caught within 10 hours:
As part of the operations, 46 suspects related to the incident were detained. An operation was carried out at 21 addresses that were found to be in contact with the terrorist.
Video footage showed the security forces raiding a house where the suspect was hiding and seizing money and a firearm.
During the interrogation of Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian woman, it was learned that she was trained as a special intelligence officer by the PKK/PYD/YPG terrorist organization and that she had entered Turkey illegally through Afrin-Idlib to take action.
Bombing action instruction from Ayn al-Arab
As per a report by Anadolu Agency, the woman confessed that she had received instructions to carry out the operation from the centre of the terrorist “PKK/BYD/YPG” organization in the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), north of Aleppo, Syria.
International and regional condemnations of the incident followed, and many leaders expressed condolences to the victims of the bombing.
The United States condemned the bombing, and White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said in a statement, “Our hearts go out to those who were injured and our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones.”
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with our NATO ally, Turkey, in the fight against terrorism,” Pierre added. Turkey’s interior minister criticized the US condolences, saying they represented “the hypocrisy of allies”.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the GCC countries condemned the bombing and affirmed their support for Ankara in this terrorist incident.
Turkey had previously faced a series of attacks that caused panic in the country between 2015 and 2016, leaving about 500 dead and more than 2,000 wounded and part of which was claimed by ISIS.
