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Turkish police arrest Syrian woman in connection with weekend bombing in Istanbul killing 6

The suspect is believed to be connected to Kurdish militants and in Turkey illegally.

Published: November 14, 2022 8:22am

Updated: November 14, 2022 9:29am

Turkish police on Monday announced the arrest of a Syrian woman in connection with a weekend bomb attack that killed six people and wounded dozens of others in a busy Istanbul shopping area. 

The Istanbul Police Department say have identified the suspect as Ahlam Albashir, a "special intelligence officer" trained by Kurdish militants.

Albashir, a Syrian national, is believed to have entered Turkey illegally through Afrin, a Syrian border town.

Officials said her capture and arrest was made after reviewing video tape from about 1,200 security cameras and detained 46 people for questioning after the attack Sunday.

The suspect is believed to have dropped off the TNT-type bomb at the shopping area and left via taxi, the Associated Press reports.

The Islamic State and Kurdish militants carried out multiple deadly bombings in Turkey from 2015 to 2017, but the Kurdish groups have reportedly denied being involved in Sunday's attack

"Our people and the democratic public know that we are not related to this incident, that we will not directly target civilians," the groups said in a statement published by a pro-Kurd news website, the wire service also reported.

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