Authorities reportedly said that nine Germans and one Peruvian tourist were among the dead.
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According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the explosion that rocked Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district was carried out by a suicide bomber of Syrian origin.
Shocking photos of several bodies on the ground in the square known as the Hippodrome were too graphic to publish.
The German government has so far confirmed that eight of the ten victims were German, while the identities of two people who died had not yet been confirmed.
In the wake of the attack, Turkish security forces rounded up 68 suspected ISIS members across the country, state media said, but it was not clear if any of them were directly connected to the Istanbul bombing.
The country is also dealing with more than 2 million Syrian refugees and a wave of migrants from Syria and other countries pouring across Turkey to Europe.
“The fight against terrorism was recognised as a priority at the EU-Turkey Summit on 29 November 2015 and we must step up our efforts in this regard in full respect of our obligations under global law, including human rights and humanitarian laws”, they said. (Run away) before the attack and averted more deaths among the tourist group that was visiting the Obelisk a historic statue erected 1626 years ago during the Byzantine era.
“I came here today in order to show that the entire population of Germany, together with the people of Turkey, condemn this attack, and we mourn together”, he said.
Asked whether Turkey planned air strikes against Isis in response to the bombing in Istanbul, he said the country would act at a time and in a manner that it saw fit.
Ala also said the bomber was not on a list of people wanted by Turkey.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, who visited the wounded in hospital in Istanbul, said there was “no indication” the attack specifically targeted Germans, saying there was no need to cancel travel plans. “It is exactly this freedom and our determination to fight these terrorists together with our global partners that will prevail”, said Merkel speaking in Germany.
Russia’s Consulate General in the Mediterranean city of Antalya said three Russians had been detained over suspected connection to Islamic State, Russian state news agency RIA said.
“There is a likelihood that we will see more attacks in urban centres”, said Anthony Skinner, director of UK-based political risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.
One suspect with a link to the attack was detained in Istanbul late Tuesday, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said during a news conference with his German counterpart.
The Istanbul attack, targeting groups of tourists as they wandered around the square, appeared to mark a change in Islamic State’s tactics against Turkey.
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Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Sawsan Chebli told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday: “the number of Germans killed has unfortunately risen to 10”.
