'Female bomber' bought make-up moments before deadly attack
New footage of the Istanbul bombing suspect has emerged bizarrely showing her buying make-up just minutes before the attack that killed six.
Syrian national Ahlam Albashir was captured on CCTV last month carrying out an apparent scouting mission on Istiklal Avenue. Chilling images show her taking photos with her mobile phone apparently to help her detonate her bomb in the most crowded part of the street.
But a second piece of footage shows her inside a nearby store dressed in camouflage trousers as she purchases make-up.
Turkish media reported that these security camera images were – bizarrely – recorded just minutes before the attack on 13th November.
The bombing killed a man and his nine-year-old daughter, a woman and her teenage daughter, and a married couple, and injured 81 others.
Suspect left bag on bench
Police arrested Albashir a day after the attack. During questioning, she allegedly confirmed her affiliation with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Defence Units (YPG).
Turkey considers both groups to be terrorist organisations.
The police investigation said 23-year-old Albashir came into contact with the YPG through her partner in 2017, state news agency Anadolu reported.
In an interview with the public prosecutor's office, the woman stated that she had acted on the instructions of a man on the day of the attack, as Anadolu reported. He is allegedly also a member of the YPG.
The man instructed her to wait on a bench and then leave a bag there. After she did so, the explosion occurred and she ran away.
According to her statement, the woman did not know about a bomb in the bag she left behind, Anadolu reported.
The PKK once sought an independent Kurdish state but its aims have since shifted towards autonomy. The YPG is a predominantly-Kurdish militia in Syria but is alleged by Turkey to have links to the PKK.
For decades, Ankara has downplayed the existence of Kurdish people in Turkey.
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for thousands of human rights abuses against Kurds.
The Kurdish-Turkish conflict, which started in 1921 and is ongoing, has seen more than 100,000 people killed.
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