A Turkish court issued 17 arrest warrants today following the Istanbul attack that killed six people. Among them was the main suspect Alham Albashir, Turkish media reported. The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that they were charged with “destruction of state unity”, “premeditated murder” and “attempted murder”. A total of 51 people were arrested earlier this week.
The bomb attack on a busy shopping street in central Istanbul killed six people and wounded 81 others. The attack was the deadliest in five years and brought back memories of a series of bombings in 2015-2017.
The Turkish government blames the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for the attack. So far, no group has confessed to the crime. According to media reports, 23-year-old Albashir, an alleged PKK supporter from Syria, confessed to the crime. She admitted acting on behalf of the PKK and receiving its instructions in Kobane, in the Kurdish region of northeast Syria. The PKK and its Syrian offshoot YPG deny responsibility for the attack.