An attack by an alleged suicide bomber killed at least 10 people in Istanbul’s central tourist district on Tuesday.
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“I see no reason to refrain from trips to Turkey”, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Efkan Ala in Istanbul on Tuesday.
Germany committed Tornado reconnaissance jets to the military effort against the Islamic State group in Syria following the November attacks in Paris, and started flying missions from the Incirlik air base in Turkey last week.
He said the bomber was believed to have recently entered Turkey from Syria but was not on Turkey’s watch list of suspected militants. Many of those wounded are German as well.
Ambulances and police were dispatched to Sultanahmet, the city’s main tourist hub, which is home to world-famous monuments including the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia as the police sealed off the area after the attack, local television reports said.
Prime Minister Davutoglu had earlier spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to offer condolences.
“I strongly condemn this attack – this apparent terrorist act caused by a suicide bomber”.
The German Foreign Office issued a statement warning tourists to stay away from public spaces.
Islamist, leftist and Kurdish fighters have carried out previous attacks in Turkey but many are blaming the so-called Islamic State for what is the first attack aimed at tourists in the city’s recent memory. Once again this shows us how important it is to be united in the face of terrorism.
Davutoglu also told Merkel on the same phone call that the details of an ongoing investigation regarding the suicide attack will be shared with German officials. De Maiziere said those talks will now also address “the determined fight against terrorism”.
On January 6 past year, a woman carried out a suicide bombing attack on a police station in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet, leaving an officer dead and another injured.
Although no group has claimed responsibility, two bombings past year, one in the town of Suruc near the Syrian border and one in the capital Ankara, the latter killing more than 100 people, have been blamed on ISIL by the Turkish government.
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The private Dogan news agency says at least two people were hospitalized following an explosion in the historic center of Istanbul.
