Suicide bomber kills 10 people, mainly Germans, in Istanbul
January 12, 2016
At least 10 people have been killed in an explosion in a district of Istanbul popular with tourists, the city authorities say. Foreign tourists are reportedly among those hurt in the blast, which occurred in the city’s historic Sultanahmet district, near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
President Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attack and said a Syrian was thought responsible and that the blast would only harden Turkey’s resolve in fighting terrorism. Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus said the bomber had been identified from body parts at the scene, and was a Syrian national born in 1988 whose links were being investigated. 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.