Just after news of the FlyDubai plane crash in Russia broke early Saturday morning, another tragedy unfolded on the other side of the Black Sea in Istanbul, Turkey. That’s where a suicide bomber targeted a busy shopping center popular among tourists at 11 a.m. local time, and much of the blast and the initial aftermath was caught on camera by a nearby CCTV security system.
According to BBC News, an identified individual walked into the middle of the crowded main shopping area of Istiklal Street in central Istanbul and triggered a device on his person. Local officials indicated that at least four people had been killed, and that another 36 had been injured following the blast. Citizens from Israel, Ireland, Germany, Iceland, Dubai and Iran were among the alleged terrorist attack’s casualties.
Uwes Shehadeh, a survivor who recalled hearing “a horrific and horrible noise,” told the BBC that “it was very chaotic” and “everyone was screaming and running away.”
As of this writing, no one group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing. However, given the region’s history with Kurdish militants and the Islamic State, the likelihood that at least one of these organizations is responsible for the attack is quite high. Plus, the nearby German consulate had been closed on Thursday and Friday due to an undisclosed security threat — a concern that, according to the BBC, may “have been proved right.”
Meanwhile, RT and other media outlets in the region acquired and released brief snippets of CCTV footage from Istiklal Street. Several different cameras offered perspectives that were equally close and distant to the bombing, but the chilling effect is the same. People are milling about, then after a brief flash of light and debris, the survivors run to safety as quickly as possible.