The start of the busy pedestrian shopping and restaurant street on Taksim Square in Istanbul, steps from its Republic Monument had a midday Sunday terror attack today.
“It happened right outside my favorite restaurant with delicious sweets, tea, and food”, said eTurboNews Reporter Dmytro Makarov.”In 2016 I was a witness an attempted attack while staying at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Istanbul.”
Photos and videos from this horrible scene were forwarded by eTurboNews readers from Istanbul.
In local news reports the mayor of the city talks about casualties and multiple injuries. AP reported four people were killed and 38 others were wounded on Sunday at the explosion.
The blast at this busy pedestrian street leaves people dead and injured, the governor added.
eTurboNews readers tweeted that people say the attack was against Turkish president Erdogan
State TV TRT showed videos of ambulances and police headed to the scene.
The state-owned Anadolu news agency said the cause of the blast was not yet known. Shops were shuttered and the avenue closed down.
Istanbul is booming when it comes to tourism. Turkish Airlines is running at record capacity, hotels are often booked and substantially more expensive compared to past times.
This is the first major attack after the reopening of Turkey after COVID-19 and could have an impact on tourism.
Turkey tourism however has shown resilience throughout many challenges and over many years.
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