One person was detained late on Tuesday as part of the investigation into the blast, Ala said, but gave no details.
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Thomas de Maiziere, the German interior minister, said it did not appear that Germans were deliberately targeted.
De Maiziere said there was “no indication” the attack specifically targeted Germans.
The fact that the bomber had registered as a Syrian refugee suggests central planning by Islamic State leaders, either to cover their tracks or provoke a backlash in Europe against legitimate Syrian asylum-seekers, said Firas Abi-Ali, an analyst with the security consultancy IHS Country Risk. Turkey sees about 35 million tourists a year. The foreign ministry has set up a crisis union in Germany, and sent a team to Turkey, to deal with the injured tourists, as well as to identify the bodies. They said he was identified by his fingertips at the site of the explosion.
The bombing left 10 Germans dead, a spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry said, raising the previous death toll of 9.
Turkish media said police raided a home in an affluent Istanbul neighbourhood, briefly detaining one woman suspected of links to the Islamic State group, although it wasn’t clear if she was the suspect Ala was referring to.
The bombing may also be a sign that Islamic State – blamed for the attack – is raising the stakes as Turkey tightens borders that allow passage of militants from Syria and permits U.S.-allied air forces to run bombing missions from its bases, as well as toughening its counterterrorism operations.
The prime minister vowed to reveal the “real actors” behind the IS which Turkey has said was behind last year’s deadly bombings in the southeastern city of Suruc and the capital Ankara, and now in Istanbul. Peru also said one of its nationals had died in the attack.
Turkish authorities also arrested 13 suspected Islamic State militants – including three Russian nationals – across the country, but it was unclear if any of them were directly connected to the attack.
The attack Tuesday struck Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district, which is popular with tourists.
Most of the people killed in Tuesday’s attack were German tourists.
He said Turkey had detained 3,318 people over suspected links to Islamic State and other radical groups since Syria’s conflict began, 847 of whom, majority foreigners, had subsequently been arrested. Ten Germans were killed in the bombing.
But Turkish officials said it was hard to prevent every attack.
Those killed in Tuesday’s blast included two couples.
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In recent days, Turkey – which has come under scrutiny from Western officials who claim it has not done enough to stop the Islamic State – has arrested dozens of people who allegedly have ties to the terrorist organization.
