Turkish police have arrested a Syrian woman _ main suspect and 46 other suspects in relation to a bomb blast in Istanbul’s Istiklal Street on Sunday.
According to police, Syrian woman Ahlam Albashir is suspected to have planted the bomb at the busiest commercial hub of Istanbul.
The detained woman said she was trained by Kurdish militants in Syria. She told police that she entered Turkey through northwest Syria’s Afrin region.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia were responsible for the attack. Syrian Kurdish YPG is an affiliated group of PKK.
Turkish Minister Soylu said the order was given in Kobani and the bomber passed through Afrin — both cities in northern Syria. Turkish forces have carried out operations against the YPG in recent years in Northern Syria.
Turkish Police used a dog to search the apartment and found gold, money and ammunition where Syrian woman was residing.
Six Turkish citizens _ two members each of three families, were killed in the attack.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
