The executive body of the European Union says it stands “united” with Turkey against “all forms of terrorism”, after a deadly bomb attack killed almost a dozen people in the country’s most populous city of Istanbul.
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Prime Minister Davutoglu added in a public statement that such attacks will not deter Turkey’s intent in defeating the terrorist organization. “It is exactly this freedom and our determination to fight these terrorists together with our worldwide partners that will prevail”, said Merkel speaking in Germany.
Meanwhile, German and Danish citizens are being warned by their respective governments to stay away from crowds outside tourist spots in Istanbul.
Turkey, which borders Syria, supports rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was an ally of Erdogan until before the Syrian civil war began almost five years ago.
Turkish police cordon off the Blue Mosque area on January 12, 2016 after a blast in Istanbul’s tourist hub of Sultanahmet left 10 people dead. A Turkish official told the Associated Press that at least nine of the victims of the attack were Germans.
The alleged suicide bomber, a 27-year-old called Nabil Fadli, was born in Saudi Arabia and moved to Syria when he was eight years old, the Saudi-owned al-Hayat newspaper said.
He also held a security meeting with officials including the country’s interior minister, immediately after the explosion.
Erdem Koroglu, who was working at a nearby office, told NTV television he saw several people on the ground following the blast.
The authorities blamed three major suicide attacks past year on the Islamic State extremist group, which controls territory in neighbouring Syria and Iraq. Police shuttered most of the square on Tuesday.
Bishop Pat Buckley, from Northern Ireland, had moved on to the Blue Mosque and was shooting pictures in Sultanahmet Square prior to the blast.
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Turkey has faced increased violence in recent months generated by the Islamic State and after a ceasefire broke down between the Turkish government and PKK Kurdish rebel militants – which led to airstrikes by Turkey and bombings by rebels. The prosecutor’s office said that attack was carried out by a local IS cell.
