Istanbul Blast Kills 6, Wounds 53

Bomb sends people fleeing from crowded shopping, dining district
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 13, 2022 10:15 AM CST
Istanbul Blast Kills 6, Wounds 53
Security forces arrive Sunday on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue after a bomb exploded.   (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A bomb exploded on a popular pedestrian street in Istanbul on Sunday, killing six people, wounding dozens, and sending people fleeing as flames rose. Footage posted online showed ambulances, fire trucks, and police at the scene on Istiklal Avenue, a typically crowded thoroughfare popular with tourists and locals and lined with shops and restaurants. In one video, a loud bang could be heard and flames could be seen, as pedestrians turned and ran away. Social media users said shops were shuttered and the avenue closed down, the AP reports.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the blast a "treacherous attack" and said its perpetrators would be punished. Erdogan said another 53 people were wounded, according to information he received from the Istanbul governor. Five prosecutors were assigned to investigate the blast, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Turkey's media watchdog imposed temporary restrictions on reporting on the explosion—a move that bans the use of close-up videos and photos of the blast and its aftermath. The Supreme Council of Radio and Television has imposed similar bans in the past. Turkey was hit by a string of deadly bombings between 2015 and 2017 by the Islamic State group and outlawed Kurdish groups.

(More Istanbul stories.)

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