▲ Istiklal street in Istanbul, Turkey where the explosion occurred


At least six people have been killed and 53 others injured in an unexplained explosion on Istiklal Street in the downtown Beyyol district of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city.



The Associated Press reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkiye has defined the incident as an act of deliberately detonating bombs in a densely populated area and ordered an investigation into the incident.



According to reports, there was a powerful explosion amid flames soaring on Istiklal Street, resulting in casualties.



Several ambulances rescued the wounded, and the police stopped pedestrians on Istiklal Street.



In a statement, Erdogan said at least six people were killed in the incident.



According to information received from Istanbul's governor, there are now 53 injured, Erdogan said.



Erdogan described the incident as a terrorist attack and called it "a mean and sinister attack on a busy street on a Sunday," adding that "the perpetrators will be punished."



Authorities are working to clear up the accident and have launched an investigation into how and behind the bomb's detonation.



It is said that five prosecutors have been assigned to the investigation.



As the Turkish government determined that the explosion was a terrorist attack, there is a possibility that an extremist militant group (IS) or a Kurdish separatist militant group may have been linked to the incident.



Istiklal Street, where the accident occurred, is known as the busiest street in Istanbul visited by many tourists.



It leads to Taksim Square, one of Istanbul's key tourist attractions, where major embassies, hotels, luxury shops, and restaurants are gathered.



Turkiye has maintained tensions with the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist armed group based in eastern and northern Iraq and northeastern Syria.



Turkey is conducting PKK sweeping operations not only within the country but also beyond the borders of neighboring countries such as Iraq and Syria.



(Photo = Reuters, Yonhap News)