Deaths and injuries reported after explosion in central Istanbul - Al Jazeera English

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Eleven radical reportedly wounded successful a blast connected Istiklal Avenue, a pedestrian thoroughfare successful Turkey’s biggest city.

An detonation connected Istanbul’s fashionable pedestrian Istiklal Avenue Sunday has near radical dormant and injured, a elder authoritative has said.

Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya tweeted that the detonation occurred astatine astir 4:20 p.m. (13:20 GMT) connected Sunday and that determination were deaths and injuries, but helium did not accidental however many. The origin of the detonation was not clear.

“There are beardown suspicions that this was a termination bomb, but we don’t person immoderate authoritative connection yet [on that],” Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu said from Istanbul.

Broadcaster CNN Turk said successful an aboriginal study that 11 radical were injured.

A video posted online showed flames erupting and a large bang, arsenic pedestrians turned and ran away.

Other footage showed ambulances, occurrence trucks and constabulary astatine the scene. Social media users said shops were shuttered and the avenue closed down.

The avenue is simply a crowded thoroughfare fashionable with tourists and locals, lined by shops and restaurants.

Ambulances and information connected Istiklal Avenue successful Istanbul [Kemal Aslan/Reuters]

Turkey was deed by a drawstring of deadly bombings betwixt 2015 and 2017 by ISIL (ISIS) and by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Al Jazeera’s Koseoglu said the detonation comes arsenic a shock, arsenic determination person not been immoderate caller warnings implicit attacks successful the city.

“But information measures person remained precocious successful the area,” she said.

More to follow.

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