ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari expressed his condolences on Wednesday to his Turkish counterpart for deadly terror attacks in Istanbul, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Mevlut Cavusoglu had the discussion in a telephone call, the ministry said in a statement.

He had written on the day on Twitter: “Deeply saddened at precious loss of life in explosion at the iconic Taksim square in Istanbul.” “We stand in complete solidarity with our Turkish brethren in this hour of grief and offer our sincerest condolences to the bereaved families & brotherly people of Turkiye,” he added.

It merits mentioning here that at least six people were killed and 81 injured in a bomb blast, which Ankara said was carried out by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.

The YPG, or the People’s Protection Units, emerged as a powerful militant group during the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. It established a foothold in the north as Syrian government forces withdrew to put down the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad elsewhere. It is affiliated with the main Syrian Kurdish faction, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and has a female counterpart, the YPJ.