Turkish Interior Minister Rejects US Condolences Following Terrorist Attack
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu criticized on Monday the US response to the terrorist attack in central Istanbul, which claimed the lives of six people. | An explosion occurred on the pedestrian tourist street Istiklal in Istanbul on Sunday afternoon. According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at least six people were killed. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay later announced that the explosion, qualified as a terrorist act, left 81 people injured, 39 of whom have already been released from hospitals. According to the authorities, the suspect has been detained. 💬 "I think it is necessary to take the condolences made today by the United States as if a killer would be one of the first to arrive on the scene, and the reaction to this message will be very clear," Soylu was quoted by Turkish media as saying. We know where the attack was coordinated. We received the message, we know what it means. We do not accept the condolences of the American embassy. We are not treacherous to anyone, but we no longer have tolerance for these treacherous acts. Istiklal Street is our child. If we had not caught the attacker, he would have fled to Greece today," the minister added, according to press. "[Allies] who seem like friends to us, who either hide all terrorists in their own countries, or give life to terrorists in the territories they occupy, in the territories they control, and send them money officially from their own senates," Soylu concluded.
Perpetrator behind deadly Istanbul bombing arrested (Hürriyet Daily News)