At least six people died and several others were injured in a massive explosion that rocked Istanbul’s popular pedestrian Istiklal Avenue in Turkey on Sunday.

President Erdogan condemned the incident and called it a ‘vile attack’. He said that initial signs pointed to a “terror” attack in the explosion.

“It might be wrong if we say for sure that this is terror but according to first signs… there is a smell of terror there,” Erdogan told a televised press conference.

“The explosion, the cause of which was unknown, occurred in the famous Istiklal shopping street which is popular with locals and tourists,” Istanbul governor Ali Yerlikaya tweeted.