ISTANBUL: A bomb exploded on a popular pedestrian street in Istanbul on Sunday, killing six people, injuring at least 53 people, and sending people fleeing as flames rose.
Footage posted online showed ambulances, fire trucks and police at the scene on Istiklal Avenue, a typically crowded thoroughfare popular with tourists and locals and lined with shops and restaurants.
In one video, a loud bang could be heard and flames could be seen, as pedestrians turned and ran away.
Social media users said shops were shuttered and the avenue closed down.
The explosive went off around 4.20 pm local time.
A probe is underway to find out the cause of the explosion.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said initial signs pointed to a terror attack. “According to first signs... there is a smell of terror there,” Erdogan told a televised press conference.
“The attempt to take over Turkey and the Turkish nation through terrorism will not reach its goal today or tomorrow,” he warned.
Turkey was hit by a string of deadly bombings between 2015 and 2017 by the Islamic State group and outlawed Kurdish groups.
Five prosecutors were assigned to investigate the blast, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkey’s media watchdog imposed temporary restrictions on reporting on the explosion — a move that bans the use of close-up videos and photos of the blast and its aftermath. The Supreme Council of Radio and Television has imposed similar bans in the past, following attacks and accidents.
(With inputs from AP)