Turkey blames Istanbul blast on Kurdish militants, arrests 22, including bomber

Police members transport the body of an unidentified person after an explosion on busy pedestrian Istiklal street in Istanbul, Turkey, November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Kemal Aslan

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's government blamed Kurdish militants on Monday for a blast that killed six people in Istanbul's main shopping street, and said police had detained 22 suspects, including the person who had planted the bomb.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the order for the attack on Istiklal Avenue was given in Kobani, a city in northern Syria, where Turkish forces have carried out operations against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in recent years.