A Syrian suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a historic district of Istanbul popular with tourists on Tuesday morning, killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 others, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Mr. 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,” Mr. Erdogan said.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says the Islamic State group is behind the suicide attack in Istanbul that killed 10 people, mostly German visitors.
Mr. Davutoglu said on Tuesday that Turkey is determined to battle the militant group until it no longer “remains a threat” to the country or the world.
A senior Turkish government official said at least nine of the 10 people who died in Tuesday’s suicide bombing in Istanbul’s historic district were German nationals.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of Turkish rules that bar officials from speaking to journalists without authorisation.
The official did not have information on the 10th victim. It is unclear whether the death toll includes the bomber.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has told reporters in Berlin that he cannot rule out that Germans are among the dead in a suicide bombing in Istanbul. He said that the German government is in contact with Turkish authorities and condemned the attack as a “barbaric act of terrorism”.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at a different news conference, said, “we are very concerned that German citizens could be and probably will be among the victims.”
Denmark has joined Germany in warning its citizens to avoid crowds outside tourist attractions in Turkey.
The Danish Foreign Ministry updated its website following Tuesday’s deadly explosion in a historic district of Istanbul that is popular with tourists, killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 others.
The travel advisory said Danes should “until further notice” avoid public places and other places where a lot of people are gathered.
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.
The explosion, which could be heard from several neighbourhoods, was at a park that is home to a landmark obelisk, some 25m 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-km 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 neighbourhood 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,” Mr. 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.
Last month, Turkish authorities arrested two suspected Islamic State militants they said were planning suicide bombings during New Year’s celebrations in the capital Ankara.
Turkey suffered two major bombing attacks in 2015, both blamed on the Islamic State group.
Two bombings in 2015 were blamed on the radical Sunni Muslim group, in the town of >Suruc near the Syrian border and in the capital Ankara, the latter >killing more than 100 people.
