“A suicide bomber detonated a bomb in the heart of Istanbul’s historic district on Tuesday, killing 10 foreigners — majority German tourists — and wounding 15 other people in the latest in a string of attacks by the Islamic extremists targeting westerners.
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The blast hit the city’s Sultanahmet district – home to the famed Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, and the first stop for many tourists in Turkey.
Interior Minister Efkan Ala said earlier that one person had already been arrested on Tuesday in connection with the bloodshed.
Mr Maiziere said: “According to the investigations so far, there are no indications that the attack was directed specifically against Germans, so there can’t be any connection to our contribution to the fight against worldwide terrorism”.
Russia’s foreign ministry said today a Russian man arrested after this week’s deadly Istanbul bombing was suspected of having links to Islamic State and that such extremists “feel comfortable” in Turkey. And an attack in the southern city of Suruc in July left 33 dead. Russian Federation has also launched a military intervention in Syria with the purported goal of fighting ISIS, however the country has also appeared to target U.S.-backed Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
“We heard a loud sound and I looked at the sky to see if it was raining because I thought it was thunder but the sky was clear”, said Kuwaiti tourist Farah Zamani, 24, who was shopping at one of the covered bazaars with her father and sister.
It carried out two major suicide attacks previous year, including one in the capital, Ankara, in October that killed more than 100 people.
He also confirmed that the Istanbul bomber entered into Turkey as a refugee.
The three Russians were among the nine suspects detained by the Turkish police on Tuesday in the cities of Antalya and Izmir over alleged links with Islamic State.
Hammond said: “Britain will be stepping up its cooperation with Turkey in countering the scourge of ISIL and our efforts to deliver vital humanitarian and other support, inside Syria including to besieged towns”.
Islamic State, which normally claims its global terrorist attacks, has never taken responsibility for attacks in Turkey.
Hundreds of people gathered at the site of that attack on Thursday, to lay flowers and hold a minute of silence.
More suspects linked to Istanbul bombing arrested.
“We confirm the detention of three Russian citizens”, Consul-General Alexander Tolstopyatenko said, adding that “the reason for their detention is being determined”.
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The blast killed 10 German tourists and wounded several other people.
