One held in Istanbul bomb blast that left 6 dead, interior minister holds terror group PKK responsible

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has said that the man who left the bomb in a usually crowded thoroughfare in central Istanbul has been arrested."The person who planted the bomb has been arrested," Suleyman Soylu said in a statement broadcast by the official Anadolu news agency.

"According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organisation is responsible," he said.

The PKK has beenblacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara as well as its Western allies. Ithas kept up a deadly insurgency for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s.

At least six people lost their lives, and 81 others were injured in the Sunday blast on Istanbul's Istiklal Street. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his vice president, Fuat Oktay, had earlier said that "a woman" was responsible for the attack, which Soylu did not immediately address on Monday.

Erdogan had said that the initial signs pointed to a terror attack."Efforts to defeat Turkey and the Turkish people through terrorism will fail today just as they did yesterday and as they will fail again tomorrow," Erdogan told a news conference. The figures for casualties and injured were shared by Istanbul's governor Ali Yerlikaya.

Videos circulating on social media showed multiple people on the ground amid bomb wreckage.The video shows the arrival of the ambulance and police on the spot.One video showed a blast andflames accompanied by a loud bang.

The avenue, lined by shops and restaurants, is a crowded thoroughfare which is quite popular among tourists and locals.

According to accounts in Turkish media, the explosion took place at about 4:20 local time (1330 GMT).

Istiklal Street, which is near Taksim Square, was reportedly sealed off as stores shuttered, according to people on social media.

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Crime inspectors were reportedly at the scene, according to local media. As per Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, an investigation into the blast has been initiated.

Around an hour after the bomb, Turkey's RTUK authority imposed a broadcast ban on the coverage of the explosion.

(With inputs from agencies)

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