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EC Head offers condolences to families of those killed in terrorist attack in Istanbul

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Hungarian President Katalin Novak, and the Greek and Algerian Foreign Ministries also expressed their condolences

MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her condolences to the families of those killed by a blast that occurred in Istanbul on Sunday.

"My deepest condolences to Turkiye and the Turkish people after the brutal attack that claimed lives in Istanbul yesterday. My thoughts are with the families of the victims," she wrote on Twitter on Monday.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Hungarian President Katalin Novak, and the Greek and Algerian Foreign Ministries also expressed their condolences.

On Sunday, a powerful blast occurred in the Istiklal Caddesi pedestrian street in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district at about 16:20 local time. According to official data, six people were killed and more than 80 were injured. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that preliminary data indicated that it was a terror attack. Vice President Fuat Oktay said later that the terror attack was committed by a woman.

The Istiklal Caddesi, a pedestrian street with lots of restaurants, cafes, shops, hotels, and several museums is very popular both among the locals and among tourists. It runs 1.4 kilometers from the Taksim Square in Beyoglu in the European part of Istanbul toward the Golden Horn. Several diplomatic missions, including Russia’s consulate general, are located in this street.

Russia’s consulate general in Istanbul told TASS that, according to preliminary data, Russian citizens were not injured in the explosion. The diplomatic mission said that it continues to monitor the situation.

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