Explosion in Istanbul
An explosion occurred in the district of Etiler on the European side of Istanbul at around 9.00 a.m. this morning (26 May). The blast happened under a road bridge on a main road, the reason is not known yet. Several ambulances were called to the scene.
The blast occurred during the morning rush hour. Reportedly, seven people were wounded, one of whom is a police officer. According to a statement made by the Governorship of Istanbul, the injured people are not in critical condition.
No concrete information has been given yet about the reason of the blast and whether the explosion was caused by a bomb.
Minister points to Ergenekon and PKK
In a statement during a live broadcast of the Turkish news TV channel Habertürk, State Minister Egemen Bağış linked the incident to "ethnicity" and mentioned connections to "Silivri" and "Qandil". Silivri is the place where the defendants of the Ergenekon trial are being detained. The case deals with the clandestine Ergenekon terrorist organization charged with various crimes staged for the ultimate purpose of triggering a military coup. Referring to Qandil, Bağış drew a line to the base of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that is located on Qandil mountain in Northern Iraq.
The minister said it became clear that these groups are acting upon the orders of "dark forces". He continued, "Everything is clear to everyone and this nation will not forget the ones behind the unsolved murders".
"They want to block a new Constitution"
Suat Kılınç, Group Deputy Chair or the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said in a live statement on the NTV news channel that the incident was carried out by people who seek to darken the agenda of the election.
Kılınç claimed that the blast was done to sabotage a calm environment and to inhibit democracy by terror acts. "They are aiming at creating idignaiton and they want this to be published by the media. The media has a responsibility in this. The traitors want to render a new constitution in Turkey impossible by carrying out terror acts in the run-up to the elections" (EKN/VK)