“Female kamikaze” responsible for attack in Istanbul shopping street: already six dead and dozens injured | Instagram VTM NEWS

“We consider it a terrorist attack because of the explosion of a bomb detonated by an attacker who, according to initial information, was a woman,” Oktay said.

“A woman sits on a couch for about 45 minutes and the explosion occurs some time after she gets up. All data on that woman is currently being analysed,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ added during the evening. “Her name is not yet known. All files are viewed. The investigation will have to show which terrorist organization is involved.”

The explosion took place just after 2 p.m. in the pedestrian Istiklal street in the Taksim district, a busy entertainment, shopping and catering district around Taksim Square in the European part of the Turkish metropolis. It is also a place where many tourists come.

According to President Erdogan, the explosion has left six people dead and more than 80 injured, but that number is likely to rise. Four of the fatalities died on the spot, two others died in hospital.

CNN Türk writes that panic arose after the explosion. Photos are circulating on social media showing an enormous devastation and a cloud of smoke rising from the street. There are also people on the floor, some in a pool of blood. Other images show hundreds of people fleeing the street on foot.

Immediately after the explosion there were rumors that it was a suicide attack. Videos also surfaced showing a woman leaving something behind in the busy shopping street just before the bang. Erdogan confirmed that a woman was involved in the attack.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a statement that was broadcast live on television in the hours after the explosion. “The perpetrators of this underhand attack will be unmasked,” the Turkish head of state said live on television. “May our people rest assured that the perpetrators will be punished.”

The president said it was too early to be sure of a terrorist motive, but he said there was a “scent of terror” in the air, citing initial information from Istanbul governor Ali Yerlikaya.

The first victims of the attack have now been given a face. “Our hearts weep over the painful news of the Istanbul attack. We have lost our colleague Yusuf Meydan and his daughter Ecrin. Our condolences go out to his family, relatives and colleagues,” said the Minister of Social Affairs, Derya Yanık.

CNN Türk reports that Turkish media has been banned from broadcasting images of the explosion and from further reporting on it, in order to avoid panic among the inhabitants of the metropolis. As a result of the broadcast ban, social media outlets such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook experienced problems in Turkey. This is evident from data from Downdetector, a website that monitors malfunctions in websites and apps.