Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that a Syrian suicide bomber is responsible for an attack which killed ten people so far, including foreigners in the heart of Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet tourist district on Jan 12, Reuters reported.
Two senior Turkish security officials told Reuters that there is a high possibility of ISIS militants perpetrating the blast near the major tourist sites, Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
Several victims’ bodies lay on the ground in the Sultanahmet square in the immediate aftermath of the blast. A police officer and witness at the scene also reported seeing several body parts.
Foreign embassies in Turkey are working non-stop on securing their citizens, taking immediate action for those injured and reporting on recorded casualties.
Most of the 10 people killed were German citizens, Turkish Prime Minister told German Chancellor Angela Merkel by phone, according to sources in Ahmet Davutoglu’s office.
Davutoglu also told Merkel that Turkey will share the details of the ongoing investigation regarding the suicide attack with German officials.
“I condemn the terror incident in Istanbul assessed to be an attack by a suicide bomber with Syrian origin. Unfortunately we have 10 dead including foreigners and Turkish nationals,” Erdogan addressed Turkish ambassadors in Ankara, in a speech which was broadcasted live on television.
“This incident has once again showed that as a nation we should act as one heart, one body in the fight against terror. Turkey’s determined and principled stance in the fight against terrorism will continue to the end,” he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but terrorists, leftist and Kurdish militants, who are battling Ankara in southeast Turkey, all have carried out attacks in the past.
The Istanbul governor’s office said that authorities are investigating the type of explosive used and who might have been responsible. It said ten people were killed and 15 wounded but gave no further details.
“We heard a loud sound and I looked at the sky to see if it was raining because I thought it was thunder but the sky was clear,” said Kuwaiti tourist Farah Zamani, aged 24.