Turkish police have arrested five people suspected of being involved in the suicide bombing that ripped through the historic heart of Istanbul, killing 10 German tourists.
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De Maiziere also added that it did not appear that the attack was meant to specifically harm Germans, “There can’t be any connection to our contribution to the fight against global terrorism”, he said.
“In the current stage of the investigation, there is no indication that the attack was targeted against Germans”, he said. He added that he sees no reason to refrain from traveling in Turkey.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Tuesday the bomber had been identified from body parts at the scene, was born in 1988, and was thought to have been living in Syria, from where he was believed to have recently entered Turkey.
“If the terrorists aimed to destroy or endanger the cooperation between partners, then they achieved the opposite”, de Maiziere said on Wednesday. The German tour group had gathered in a square near Istanbul’s picturesque Blue Mosque for a day of sightseeing when the suicide bomber approached them and detonated his explosives.
Turkey – which has faced criticism it has been slow to tackle Islamic State – has arrested more than 3 300 people in operations against the extremist group, including 220 people in the week prior to the attack, Ala said. Ala said the bomber wasn’t on any Turkish or global watch lists for IS militants.
That included three Russians who were staying at a house in Antalya, according to an account also reported by Russia’s state-run Sputnik news.
Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member, and others are part of a U.S.-led coalition to fight ISIS in the region.
Interior Minister Efkan Ala said the detention happened late Tuesday, but did not give any further details on the suspect’s identity or possible role in the attack.
Only one person was arrested in direct connection with Tuesday’s attack, which killed 10 German tourists and wounded another 15 people.
Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated Wednesday that the attack was linked to the Islamic State group.
The Diyarbakir Governor’s Office issued a statement saying the PKK – the Kurdistan Workers’ Party – was a prime suspect in the bombing.
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According to the daily, the Syrian citizen had pretended to be escaping from Daesh, claiming that most of his family had been killed by the terror group.
