Turkey ‘rejects’ US condolences over Istanbul attack

Turkey on Monday rejected US condolences over the death of six people in a bomb attack in Istanbul that Ankara blamed on an outlawed Kurdish militant group,

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan often accuses Washington of supplying weapons to Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, deemed as “terrorists” by Ankara.

“We do not accept the US embassy’s message of condolences. We reject it,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in televised comments.

At least six people were killed and 81 wounded in an explosion in a busy area of central Istanbul.

The blast happened at about 16:20 local time (13:20 GMT) on Sunday on a shopping street in the Taksim Square area.

A suspect has now been arrested, the interior minister said.

Vice-President Fuat Oktay earlier said the blast was thought to be a terrorist attack carried out by a woman.

On Monday morning, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said a person suspected of having left the bomb had been arrested by police, and accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of responsibility.