A suicide bomber thought to be from Syria killed at least 10 people, many of them German tourists, in Istanbul’s historic heart on Tuesday, an attack senior security officials said was probably planned by Dae’sh.
The bomb ripped through the Sultanahmet square, near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, major tourist sites in the centre of one of the world’s most visited cities. President Tayyip Erdogan later confirmed that a Syrian was thought responsible, identified from body parts.
Sources in Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said most of those killed were Germans and he had spoken by phone with Chancellor Angela Merkel to express condolences. Merkel earlier said she was very worried Germans might be among the victims.
Norway’s foreign ministry said one Norwegian man was injured and was being treated in hospital. The Dogan news agency said nine Germans and one Peruvian were also wounded.
Prime minister’s office imposed a gag order on broadcasting of the blast, invoking a law which allows for such steps when there is the potential for serious harm to national security or public order.
Two senior security officials, seeking anonymity, said there was a high probability that Dae’sh militants were responsible.
The Istanbul governor’s office said the authorities were investigating the type of explosive used and who might have been responsible.
The dull thud of the blast was heard in districts of Istanbul several kilometres away, residents said. Television footage showed a police car which appeared to have been overturned by the force of the blast.
Tourist sites including the Hagia Sophia and nearby Basilica Cistern were closed on the governor’s orders, officials said.
Ambulances ferried away the wounded as police cordoned off streets. The sound of the call to prayer rang out from the Blue Mosque as forensic police officers worked at the scene.
Turkey has become a target for Dae’sh lately, with two bombings last year blamed on the militant group, in the town of Suruc near the Syrian border and in the capital Ankara, the latter killing more than 100 people.
