Policemen secure the historic Sultanahmet district after an explosion in Istanbul
A Syrian suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a historic district of Istanbul popular with tourists yesterday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 others, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Erdogan said in televised remarks that both Turks and foreigners were among the dead in the explosion in the Sultanahmet district.
“I strongly condemn the terror incident that occurred in Istanbul, at the Sultanahmet Square, and which has been assessed as being an attack by a Syria-rooted suicide bomber,” Erdogan said.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the bomber was a 28-year-old Syrian national. He said most of the people who died were foreigners. It was unclear whether the death toll of 10 included the alleged bomber.
The explosion, which could be heard from several neighborhoods, was at a park that is home to a landmark obelisk, some 25 meters from the historic Blue Mosque.
Turkey’s Dogan news agency
reported that at least six Germans, one Norwegian and one Peruvian were among the wounded, and Seoul’s Foreign Ministry told reporters via text message that one South Korean had a finger injury. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry told Norway’s news agency NTB that the Norwegian tourist was slightly hurt and was being treated in a local hospital.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, although the Islamic State group was suspected. Kurdish militants and left-wing groups are active in Turkey.
Last year, Turkey agreed to take a more active role in the U.S.-led battle against the IS group. Turkey opened its bases to U.S. aircraft to launch air raids on the extremist group in Syria and has carried out a limited number of strikes on the group itself.
It has also moved to tighten security along its 900-kilometer border with Syria in a bid to stem the flow of militants.
The attack comes at a time of heightened violence between Turkey’s security forces and militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in the country’s mostly-Kurdish southeast.
The country is also dealing with more than 2 million Syrian refugees and a wave of migrants from Syria and other countries pouring across Turkey to Europe.
Germany warned its citizens to avoid crowds outside tourist attractions in Istanbul, saying on a government website that further violent clashes and “terrorist attacks” are expected across Turkey. It also urged travelers to stay away from demonstrations and gatherings, particularly in large cities.
Police sealed the area, barring
people from approaching in case of a second explosion, and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
The Sultanahmet neighborhood is Istanbul’s main sightseeing area and includes the Topkapi Palace and the Haghia Sophia museum.
Erdem Koroglu, who was working at a nearby office, told NTV television he saw several people on the ground following the blast.
“It was difficult to say who was alive or dead,” Koroglu said. “Buildings rattled from the force of the explosion.”
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu immediately convened a security meeting with the country’s interior minister and other officials.
As with previous attacks, authorities imposed a news blackout, barring media from showing images of the dead or injured or reporting any details of the investigation. Lefteris Pitarakis & Suzan Fraser, Istanbul, AP
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