Turkey's interior minister accused the Kurdistan's Workers' Party of responsibility for a bombing on a busy Istanbul shopping street that killed six people on Sunday.
Suleyman Soylu said police had detained 22 people, including the person suspected of planting the bomb.
He 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.
Mr Soylu said the bomber had passed through Afrin, another region in northern Syria.
The explosion tore through Istiklal Avenue, a popular shopping destination for locals and tourists, on Sunday afternoon, wounding dozens.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vice President Fuat Oktay had earlier said that “a woman” was responsible for the attack, which Mr Soylu did not immediately address on Monday.
Television news reports showed images of a person, who appeared to be a woman, leaving a package below a raised flower bed.
Fifty people were discharged from hospital after the attack, which sparked concerns that Turkey could be hit with more bombings. The country suffered a series of attacks from mid-2015 to 2017.
“The person who planted the bomb has been arrested,” the interior minister told the official Anadolu news agency.
“According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organisation is responsible."
The UAE strongly condemned the attack, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said.
The ministry offered condolences to the government, the people of Turkey and the families of the victims, while wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
The PKK, or Kurdistan's Workers' Party, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara as well as its western allies, has kept up a deadly insurgency for Kurdish self-rule in south-eastern Turkey since the 1980s.
Regularly targeted by Turkish military operations, the group is also at the heart of a tussle between Sweden and Turkey, which has been blocking Stockholm's entry into Nato since May, accusing it of leniency towards the PKK.
Mr Erdogan condemned the “vile attack”.
“It might be wrong if we say for sure that this is terror but according to first signs … there is a smell of terror there,” he said on Sunday.
Mr Oktay said: “We believe that it is a terrorist act carried out by an attacker, whom we consider to be a woman, exploding the bomb”.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said: “A woman had been sitting on one of the benches for more than 40 minutes and then she got up.”
“One or two minutes later, an explosion occurred,” he told A Haber television.
“There are two possibilities. There's either a mechanism placed in this bag and it explodes, or someone remotely explodes (it).
“All data on this woman are currently under scrutiny.”
Mr Soylu's announcement did not add any details about the woman.
Turkish cities have been struck by Islamist extremists and other groups in the past.
Famous shopping street a target of attacks
Istiklal Avenue was hit during a campaign of attacks in 2015-17 that targeted Istanbul and other cities, including Ankara.
The bombings were mostly blamed on ISIS and outlawed Kurdish militants, killing nearly 500 people and wounded more than 2,000.
Sunday's explosion happened shortly after 4pm in the famous shopping street.
Helicopters flew over the city centre after the attack. Police established a large security cordon to prevent access to the area for fear of a second explosion.
Images posted on social media showed the explosion was followed by flames and triggered panic, with people running in all directions.
Several bodies were seen lying on the ground nearby.
“I was 50 to 55 metres away, suddenly there was the noise of an explosion. I saw three or four people on the ground,” Cemal Denizci, 57, told AFP.
“People were running in panic. The noise was huge. There was black smoke.”
Istiklal Avenue, in the historic district of Beyoglu, is one of the most famous arteries of Istanbul. It is entirely pedestrianised for 1.4 kilometres.
Criss-crossed by an old tramway and lined with shops and restaurants, it attracts large crowds at the weekend.
Many stores closed early in the neighbouring district of Galata. A mass of security forces members barred all entrances and rescue workers and police could be seen.
Turkey's radio and television watchdog, RTUK, placed a ban on broadcasters showing footage of the blast, a measure previously taken in the aftermath of extremist attacks.
Access to social media was also restricted after the attack.
A reaction came quickly from Greece, which “unequivocally” condemned the blast and expressed condolences to the government and people of Turkey.
The US also denounced it. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Nato ally Turkey in countering terrorism.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a message to the Turks: “We share your pain. We stand with you in the fight against terrorism”.
“Shaken by news of the despicable bombing in Istanbul targeting innocent civilians,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog tweeted in Turkish and English. “The whole world must stand united and firm against terror.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also tweeted in Turkish: “The pain of the friendly Turkish people is our pain.”
EU Council President Charles Michel offered condolences to Turkey, tweeting: “My thoughts are with the victims & their families.”
Source: The National
Image source: AP
