6 killed, 53 injured as major blast rocks Istanbul;

From the Times of Israel, 

ISTANBUL — An explosion on one of Istanbul’s most popular pedestrian thoroughfares killed at least six people and injured 53 on Sunday, authorities said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “vile attack” and said authorities were “working to find the perpetrators.”

“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,” Erdogan told a televised press conference.  “The first information provided to us by the [Istanbul] governor suggests this was an act of terrorism. We detected that a woman played a role. The work continues,” he said.

A video posted online showed flames and a loud bang, as pedestrians turned and ran away. Other footage showed ambulances, fire trucks and police at the scene. Social media users said shops were shuttered and the avenue closed down.

Turkey’s media watchdog imposed a temporary ban on reporting on the explosion — a move that prevents broadcasters from showing videos of the moment of the blast or its aftermath.

Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Sunday launched a probe into the explosion. A local court imposed a broadcast ban that bars the media from distributing images of the attack.

Twitter, one of the most popular social media in Turkey, appeared to be throttled by the authorities.

The head of RTÜK, Ebubekir Şahin, warned citizens against spreading misinformation about the attack. “We are following the developments closely. Please do not rely on information from unclear sources. Let’s get information from reliable sources. Let’s not spread false information unknowingly,”

Turkish media outlets released an image taken from security camera footage of a woman suspected of having placed an explosive device.

An Israeli woman who witnessed the blast said it occurred outside a restaurant that is popular with tourists from Israel.