Syrian woman ‘admits’ Istanbul terror attack blast that killed six
Turkey has paraded a Syrian woman it says confessed to the bombing in Istanbul that killed six people and wounded 81.
‘The person who left the bomb was detained by our Istanbul police department teams,’ interior minister Suleyman Soylu said, releasing a photo of Ahlam Albashir handcuffed and wearing a purple New York sweatshirt.
At least 46 others have been held for questioning over the attack in busy tourist hotspot Istiklal Avenue on Sunday.
Police said Albashir also admitted during interrogation that she was trained as a ‘special intelligence officer’ by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, as well as Syrian Kurdish group the Democratic Union Party and its armed wing.
She allegedly entered Turkey illegally at the Syrian border town of Afrin and would have fled to Greece if she had not been arrested.
Victims included Yusuf Meydan and his daughter Ecrin as well as members of two families, including children aged 15 and nine.
Mr Soylu criticised the US over support for Syrian Kurdish groups, calling its condolence message ‘a killer being first to show up at a crime scene’.
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