Sadly,
Foreign Minister Steinmeier has confirmed that eight German citizens
were among those killed in the terrorist attack in Istanbul today. We
mourn for all the victims of the attack. Here in Washington, DC, our
flags in front of the embassy are now at half-mast.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed the deaths of at least eight German
nationals. "I mourn for our compatriots and express my sympathy for the
relatives.... See More
AFP and Network WritersNews Corp Australia Network
A
SYRIAN suicide bomber has blown himself up in Istanbul’s busiest
tourist district, killing 10 people and injuring at least 15 more.
Grisly
images from the scene showed several mutilated corpses close to the
iconic Ottoman-era Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet, Turkey’s historic
district, after Tuesday’s attack.
“I strongly condemn the terror
attack which was carried out by a suicide bomber of Syrian origin,”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. “This incident showed one
more time that we should be united against terror.”
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the attacker belonged to Islamic State.
“We
have determined that the perpetrator of the attack is a foreigner who
is a member of Daesh,” Davutoglu said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
Officials earlier said the bomber was a Syrian national born in 1988.
Police reportedly caught a female suicide bomber about to carry out another attack minutes later.
Attacks
... the attack allegedly targeted German tourists in the historic
Sultanahmet district. They were escorted back to their hotel in Istanbul
after the attack. Picture: AP Photo/Omer KuscuSource:AP
Scene
... rescue services rushed to the scene of an explosion in the historic
Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. Picture: AP Photo/Emrah GurelSource:AP
A
Turkish official said at least nine of the dead were German, with
Davutoglu telephoning Chancellor Angela Merkel to offer his condolences,
state media said.
Merkel said the latest attack would deepen German resolve to combat international terrorism.
“Today it hit Istanbul, it has hit Paris, it hit Tunisia, it had already hit Ankara,” she told a news conference in Berlin.
Istanbul blast scene
Police
and ambulances raced to the scene, throwing up a tight security cordon
around the area as helicopters hovered overhead, and crowds of worried
locals and tourists clamoured to find out what had happened, an AFP
correspondent said.
The explosion took place about 10.20am Tuesday
(7.20pm Tuesday AEDT) by the Obelisk of Theodosius, an ancient Egyptian
monument which was re-erected by the Roman Emperor Theodosius. It
stands just outside the Blue Mosque.
Scene
... the Blue Mosque near the site of a blast in Istanbul's tourist hub
of Sultanahmet which left 10 people dead. Picture: AFPSource:AFP
Investigation
... police search the area at the historic Sultanahmet district after
an explosion. Picture: AP Photo/Lefteris PitarakisSource:AP
The
explosion was powerful enough to be heard in adjacent neighbourhoods,
witnesses told AFP. Police cordoned off the area to shocked passers-by
and tourists and the nearby tram service has been halted.
“The
explosion was so loud, the ground shook. there was a very heavy smell
that burned my nose,” a German tourist named Caroline told AFP. “I
started running away with my daughter. We went into a nearby building
and stayed there for half an hour. It was really scary,.”
Containment
... policemen install security barriers at the historic Sultanahmet
district, which is popular with tourists, after an explosion in
Istanbul. Picture: APSource:AP
TURKEY ON HIGH ALERT
Turkey
is on alert after 103 people were killed on October 10 when two suicide
bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of peace activists in Ankara, the
bloodiest attack in the country’s modern history.
That attack was
blamed on ISIS jihadists, as were two other deadly bombings in the
country’s Kurdish-dominated southeast earlier in the year.
Investigation ... policemen secure the historic Sultanahmet district, as ambulances arrive. Picture: APSource:AP
Turkish
authorities have in recent weeks detained several suspected ISIS
members, with officials saying they were planning attacks in Istanbul.
But
Turkey is also waging an all-out assault on the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) which has staged dozens of deadly attacks against
members of the security forces in the southeast.
The PKK launched
an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984, initially fighting for
Kurdish independence although now more for greater autonomy and rights
for the country’s largest ethnic minority.
Blast
... Turkish security members stand near the city's landmark Sultan
Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque after an explosion at Istanbul's historic
Sultanahmet district. Picture: APSource:AP
The
conflict, which has left tens of thousands of people dead, looked like
it could be nearing a resolution until an uneasy truce was shattered in
July.
A Kurdish splinter group, the Freedom Falcons of Kurdistan
(TAK), claimed a mortar attack on Istanbul’s second international
airport on December 23 which killed a female cleaner and damaged several
planes.
Meanwhile the banned ultra-left Revolutionary People’s
Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) has also staged a string of usually
small-scale attacks in Istanbul over the last months.
Tribute
... members of the Turkish medical association lay flowers in
Istanbul's tourist hub of Sultanahmet where at least 10 people were
killed and 15 wounded in a suspected terrorist attack. Picture: AFP/Ozan
KoseSource:AFP
A
Turkish official said at least nine of the dead were German, with
Davutoglu telephoning Chancellor Angela Merkel to offer his condolences,
state media said.
The
explosion was powerful enough to be heard in adjacent neighbourhoods,
witnesses told AFP. Police cordoned off the area to shocked passers-by
and tourists and the nearby tram service has been halted.
TURKEY ON HIGH ALERT 
Turkish
authorities have in recent weeks detained several suspected ISIS
members, with officials saying they were planning attacks in Istanbul.
The
conflict, which has left tens of thousands of people dead, looked like
it could be nearing a resolution until an uneasy truce was shattered in
July.
