Fox News reported that Tukey’s capital city was rocked by a deadly explosion this weekend which claimed the lives of six people and left 81 others injured.
The network noted that Sunday’s blast occurred on Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue, which is known as a popular area for pedestrians.
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a statement condemning the explosion as an act of terrorism, saying, “Relevant units of our state are carrying out works to find out the perpetrators of this heinous act as well as the circles behind it.”
“Will never succeed”
“Attempts to make Turkey and the Turkish nation surrender through terror never have and never will succeed,” Erdoğan continued.
“May our people rest assured that all the aspects of this incident will be clarified, and the perpetrators will be punished in the way they deserve,” the head of state went on to add.
Meanwhile, newly elected Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke out on Twitter, calling the attack “terrible” and offering her “deepest condolences.”
The images coming from Istanbul are terrible, I want to express our deepest condolences to Türkiye for the attack suffered and the death of innocent lives.
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) November 13, 2022
According to Fox News, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also addressed the incident, saying, “The United States strongly condemns the act of violence that took place today in Istanbul, Turkey.”
“Our thoughts are with those who were injured, and our deepest condolences go to those who lost loved ones,” the press secretary continued, adding, “We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our NATO ally Turkey in countering terrorism.”
Woman confesses
Meanwhile, Fox News revealed on Monday that Turkish authorities had detained a Syrian woman identified as Ahlam Albashir, who they say confessed to planting Sunday’s bombing.
While Albashir is allegedly linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (KPP), a pro-KPP website known as Firat News published a statement from the group which denied any involvement.
“Our people and the democratic public know that we are not related to this incident, that we will not directly target civilians,” it read.