Turkiye detains Syrian suspect in Istanbul bombing that killed 6

Turkish police has released of picture of the unidentified blast suspect arrested in Istanbul. (Turkish Police via Reuters)
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Updated 14 November 2022
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Turkiye detains Syrian suspect in Istanbul bombing that killed 6

  • Videos from 1,200 security cameras were reviewed and raids were carried out at 21 locations
  • Suspect allegedly left scene in a taxi after leaving TNT-type explosives on the crowded avenue

ISTANBUL: Turkish police said Monday that they have detained a Syrian woman with suspected links to Kurdish militants and that she confessed to planting a bomb that exploded on a bustling pedestrian avenue in Istanbul, killing six people and wounding several dozen others.

Sunday’s explosion occurred on Istiklal Avenue, a popular thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants that leads to the iconic Taksim Square.

“A little while ago, the person who left the bomb was detained by our Istanbul Police Department teams,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced early on Monday. Police later identified the suspect as Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian national.

The Istanbul Police Department said videos from some 1,200 security cameras were reviewed and raids were carried out at 21 locations. At least 46 other people were also detained for questioning.

The suspected allegedly departed the scene in a taxi after leaving TNT-type explosives on the crowded avenue, police said.

Sunday’s explosion was a shocking reminder of the anxiety that stalked the Turkish population during years when such attacks were common. The country was hit by a string of deadly bombings between 2015 and 2017, some by the Daesh group, others by Kurdish militants who seek increased autonomy or independence.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has denied any role in the deadly weekend attack.

“Our people and the democratic public know closely that we are not related to this incident, that we will not directly target civilians and that we do not accept actions targeting civilians,” the group said in a statement published by the Firat news agency. Firat is close to the PKK, which is listed as a terror group by Turkiye and its Western allies.




A police forensic team work at the scene after an explosion on busy pedestrian Istiklal street in Istanbul, on Nov. 13, 2022. (Reuters)

Police said the suspect told them during her interrogation that she had been trained as a “special intelligence officer” by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, as well as the Syrian Kurdish group the Democratic Union Party and its armed wing. She entered Turkiye illegally through the Syrian border town of Afrin, according to the police statement.

The suspect would have fled to neighboring Greece if she had not been detained, the interior minister said.

Earlier, Soylu said security forces believe that instructions for the attack came from Kobani, the majority Kurdish city in northern Syria that borders Turkiye. He said the attack would be avenged.

“We know what message those who carried out this action want to give us. We got this message,” Soylu said. “Don’t worry, we will pay them back heavily in return.”

Soylu also blamed the United States, saying a condolence message from the White House was akin to “a killer being first to show up at a crime scene.” Turkiye has been infuriated by US support for Syrian Kurdish groups.

In its condolence message, the White House said it strongly condemned the “act of violence” in Istanbul, adding: “We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our NATO ally (Turkiye) in countering terrorism.”

Turkish television broadcast footage purporting to show the main suspect being detained at a house where she was allegedly hiding. It said police searching the house also seized large amounts of cash, gold items and a gun.

Police later also released a photograph showing the woman standing between two Turkish flags, in handcuffs.

The minister told reporters that Kurdish militants had allegedly given orders for the main suspect to be killed to avoid evidence being traced back to them.

Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said of the 81 people who were hospitalized, 57 have been discharged. Six of the wounded were in intensive care and two of them were in life-threatening condition, he said. The six who were killed in the blast were members of three families and included children aged 15 and 9.

Istiklal Avenue was reopened to pedestrian traffic at 6 a.m. on Monday after police concluded inspections at the scene. People began leaving carnations at the site of the blast, while the street was decorated with hundreds of Turkish flags.

The PKK has fought an insurgency in Turkiye since 1984. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since then.

Ankara and Washington both consider the PKK a terrorist group but they diverge on the issue of the Syrian Kurdish groups, which have fought against the Daesh group in Syria.

In recent years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has led a broad crackdown on the militants as well as on Kurdish lawmakers and activists. Amid skyrocketing inflation and other economic troubles, Erdogan’s anti-terrorism campaign is a key rallying point for him ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next year.

Following the attacks between 2015 and 2017 that left more than 500 civilians and security personnel dead, Turkiye launched cross-border military operations into Syria and northern Iraq against Kurdish militants, while also cracking down on Kurdish politicians, journalists and activists at home.


How many hostages are left in Gaza?

Updated 3 sec ago
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How many hostages are left in Gaza?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel has recovered the bodies of two hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli American Gad Haggai and Judih Weinstein — who was Israeli, American and Canadian — were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel that ignited the war in Gaza. Their remains were returned to Israel in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency, Netanyahu said.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack. More than 54,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Here are details on the hostages:
Total hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023: 251
Hostages taken before the Oct. 7 attack: 4, including 2 who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015 and the bodies of 2 soldiers killed in the 2014 war
Hostages released in exchanges or other deals: 148, of whom 8 were dead
Bodies of hostages retrieved by Israeli forces: 43
Hostages rescued alive: 8
Hostages still in captivity: 56, of whom Israel believes 33 are dead. Netanyahu has said there are “doubts” about the fate of several more.
The hostages in captivity include: 5 non-Israelis ( 3 Thais, 1 Nepalese, 1 Tanzanian), of whom 3 (2 Thais and 1 Tanzanian) have been confirmed dead.

Egypt, Greece agree to protect status of Mount Sinai monastery, after court ruling

Updated 4 min 39 sec ago
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Egypt, Greece agree to protect status of Mount Sinai monastery, after court ruling

  • Egypt and Greece intend to move forward based on the long-standing tradition and the already established status of an emblematic monastery for its Greek Orthodox character of worship

ATHENS: Greece and Egypt have agreed to safeguard the status of one of the world’s oldest sites of Christian worship, foreign ministers of both countries said late on Wednesday, after an Egyptian court ruling last week cast uncertainty over its future.

The St. Catherine’s Monastery, at the foot of Egypt’s Mount Sinai, was founded in the 6th century and is the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its original function, says UNESCO, which has listed the area as a World Heritage site.

Revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, the monastery is at the site where by Biblical tradition Moses received the Ten Commandments.

But last week, an Egyptian court ruling seen by Reuters ordered Orthodox monks to vacate several plots of land that the monks have used for years, including vineyards and gardens adjacent to the monastery compound, on the grounds that they were illegally sequestered, prompting a diplomatic flurry between Cairo and Athens over the site’s status.

“We agreed in the immediate future to work toward safeguarding the rights of the monastery, as well as its legal status,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty in Cairo.

“Both Egypt and Greece intend to move forward based on the long-standing tradition and the already established status of an emblematic monastery for its Greek Orthodox character of worship.”

Abdelatty said that the ruling preserves the monastery’s profound spiritual value and religious standing, and confirmed that the monks would continue to have access to and use of the monastery and its religious and historical sites, according to a foreign ministry statement. With a long history of diplomatic ties, Greece and Egypt have deepened cooperation in recent years.

St. Catherine’s is a sprawling complex, and according to tradition it was built around a burning bush where God was said to have spoken to Moses as described in the Book of Exodus. Its library is one of the most extensive worldwide, containing some of the world’s earliest Christian manuscripts.


Israel PM says bodies of two hostages retrieved from Gaza

Updated 05 June 2025
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Israel PM says bodies of two hostages retrieved from Gaza

  • The bodies were of Judy Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai from Kibbutz Nir Oz

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday the bodies of two Israelis killed in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack and held in Gaza had been returned to Israel.

“In a special operation by the (security agency) and the (military) in the Gaza Strip, the bodies of two of our hostages held by the murderous terrorist organization Hamas were returned to Israel: Judy Weinstein-Haggai and Gad

Haggai from Kibbutz Nir Oz, may their memory be blessed,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Judy and Gad were murdered on October 7 and abducted to the Gaza Strip,” he added.


UAE, Egypt leaders renew call for Gaza ceasefire

Updated 05 June 2025
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UAE, Egypt leaders renew call for Gaza ceasefire

  • The two leaders stressed “the importance of intensifying efforts to achieve a ceasefire” in Gaza

DUBAI: UAE’s Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday reiterated the call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during their meeting in Abu Dhabi.

During the two leaders’ talks at Qasr Al-Shati in Abu Dhabi, they stressed “the importance of intensifying efforts to achieve a ceasefire” in Gaza and working “towards a clear political horizon for a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution.”

The US earlier vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate truce in the besieged enclave, the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and unhampered delivery of humanitarian supplies territory’s starving population.

Sheikh Mohamed and Sisi, during their high-level talks, also discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries “particularly those that advance their shared development goals and serve the mutual interests of their peoples.”

They also reviewed regional and international issues as well as recent developments particularly aimed at restoring security and stability in the Middle East region.


Activist Gaza aid boat slams Israel ‘threat’

Updated 05 June 2025
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Activist Gaza aid boat slams Israel ‘threat’

ROME: International activists seeking to sail an aid boat to Gaza condemned Wednesday what they called Israel’s threats and “declared intent to attack” their vessel as it crosses the Mediterranean.
Israel’s military said Tuesday it was ready to “protect” the country’s seas, after the vessel — the Madleen, sailed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition — left Sicily on Sunday carrying around a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
“The navy operates day and night to protect Israel’s maritime space and borders at sea,” army spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.
Asked about the aid vessel, he said: “For this case as well, we are prepared.”
He added: “We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the activist coalition said it “strongly condemns Israel’s declared intent to attack Madleen,” calling it a “threat.”
“Madleen carries humanitarian aid and international human rights defenders in direct challenge to Israel’s illegal, decades-long blockade, and ongoing genocide” in Gaza, it said.
Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, launched in 2010, is an international movement supporting Palestinians, combining humanitarian aid with political protest against the blockade on Gaza.
The Madleen is a small sailboat reportedly carrying fruit juices, milk, rice, tinned food and protein bars.
In early May, the Freedom Flotilla ship Conscience was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists saying they suspected an Israeli drone attack.
The coalition said that on Tuesday evening, off the coast of the Greek island of Crete, the Madleen “was approached and circled by a drone, followed, several hours later by two additional drones.”
It said it was later informed these were surveillance drones operated by the Greek coast guard, EU border agency Frontex or both.
Israel recently eased a more than two-month blockade on war-ravaged Gaza, but the aid community has urged it to allow in more food, faster.