Türkiye rejects US condolence over Istanbul attack: Interior Minister
ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye has refused to accept the message of condolence from the US on Sunday’s deadly terror attack in Istanbul.
“I emphasize once again that we do not accept, and reject the condolence of the US Embassy,” Suleyman Soylu told reporters on Istiklal Avenue, where the terror attack took place.
Turkiye considers the US to be tacitly supporting Kurdish rebel groups in Iraq and Syria to counter ISIS and its allied radical militant groups.
The explosion on Istiklal Avenue, which was allegedly carried out by the Kurdish nationalist PKK/YPG organization, killed six people and injured 81 others.
According to officials, a female suspect, who has now been arrested, took orders from the group’s headquarters in Kobani, Syria. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, which is branded as a “terrorist organization” by Türkiye, the US and the European Union.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement on Sunday, saying: “The United States strongly condemns the act of violence that took place today in Istanbul, Türkiye.”
Suleyman said the suspect would have fled to Greece had she not been caught. The person who plotted the attack has also been held, he added.
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