Grieving father's world left in tatters after death of daughter, grandchild in PKK terror attack

By Kaan Bozdogan and Mucahit Turetken

ISTANBUL (AA) - Mehmet Ozsoy's world fell apart on Sunday when he was told that his daughter and granddaughter were victims in a terror attack on one of Istanbul's busiest streets.

Ozsoy, who last spoke to his daughter, Arzu, over the phone on Friday, said her dream "was to live with her daughter, Yagmur. She never parted with her daughter."

Arzu Ozsoy, who was a teacher at a private school in the Eyupsultan district, was with her daughter, Yagmur Ucar, a 10th-grade student, on the popular pedestrian Istiklal Avenue when the bomb planted by the PKK terrorist organization exploded.

Ihsan Bulbuloglu, a grieving relative of the mother and daughter, said Arzu's death had shaken her students to their core.

"We already knew that her students love her. She used to talk about it from time to time. Arzu had very good communication with her students," Bulbuloglu said.

"Yagmur wanted to be a teacher like her mother. She loved children. She was a sweet child," he added.

"I'm sure that our state won't let the them (PKK) get away with it ... I hope such a tragic event never befalls our nation ever again. It's very painful."

Arzu's ex-husband and Yagmur's father, Nurettin Ucar, who had long been living abroad, came to Istanbul for the funeral after receiving the tragic news.

At least six people were killed and 81 injured in Sunday's bomb blast, which the Turkish government confirmed was carried out by the PKK/YPG terror group.

Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian woman who planted the explosives in the crowded commercial hub, has been arrested along with dozens of other suspects.

Albashir has confessed that she was trained by the PKK/YPG terror group as an intelligence operative and entered Türkiye illegally from the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin, according to Turkish officials.

Authorities said she took orders from the terror group's headquarters in Kobani, Syria.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the terror group's Syrian offshoot.