IS bomber kills 10 in Istanbul
THIS is the moment a suicide bomber blew himself up in the heart of Istanbul’s tourist district, killing ten people.
The picture taken by a tourist yesterday also shows unsuspecting passers-by gathered around a popular Roman monument.
German holidaymakers made up most of the dead and 15 injured – prompting fresh warnings of the dangers of touring Turkey.
Dozens of visitors were gathered at the Obelisk of Theodosius when a 28-year-old Syrian, thought to be linked to Islamic State, detonated a suicide belt.
Witnesses said the explosion rattled the nearby Blue Mosque and could be heard across the city.
‘It was a suicide bomb,’ said eyewitness Murat Manaz. ‘There was chaos. Everybody was running.
‘Policemen were distressed but at the same time trying to evacuate the area because they said there was a possibility that a second bomb could go off.’
Erdem Koroglu, who was working at a nearby office, said he saw several victims on the ground.
‘It was difficult to say who was alive or dead,’ he said. ‘Buildings rattled from the force of the explosion.’
German chancellor Angela Merkel immediately vowed retaliation. ‘Today Istanbul was hit; Paris has been hit, Tunisia has been hit, Ankara has been hit before,’ she said. ‘Terrorism is once again showing its cruel and inhuman face today.’
Germany’s foreign ministry urged its nationals to avoid large crowds and warned of further attacks.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said his country was the ‘top target’ for all terrorist groups in the region. ‘I strongly condemn the terror incident that occurred in Istanbul, at the Sultanahmet Square, and which has been assessed as being an attack by a Syria-rooted suicide bomber,’ he said.
Two senior security officials said there was a ‘high probability’ IS was responsible. Kurdish militants and left-wing groups are also active.
Last year, Turkey agreed to take a more active role in the US-led battle against IS. It opened its bases to American aircraft and has carried out a few strikes itself.
It has also moved to tighten security along its 560-mile border with Syria to stem the flow of militants.
Ankara is dealing with more than two million Syrian refugees and a wave of migrants pouring across its borders to Europe. Sultanahmet is Istanbul’s main sightseeing area and includes the Topkapi Palace and the Hagia Sophia.
The Egyptian obelisk, which was re- erected by the 4th century emperor Theodosius, is one of the city’s most-visited monuments.
Turkey suffered two major bombings last year, both blamed on IS. More than 30 people were killed in a suicide attack in Suruc, near the border with Syria, in July.
In October two suicide bombs exploded outside Ankara’s main train station as people gathered for a peace rally, killing more than 100.
The number of British women and girls travelling to Syria to join Islamic State has risen sharply.
Counter-terror police revealed yesterday that 56 went there last year after being lured by extremists – more than one a week. In 2014 the figure stood at 20.
It came as mothers from Syria issued an emotional plea to British women not to join the terror group.
In one letter, Zakaa, a mother of three boys who has fled Syria after her husband was killed, wrote: ‘Ask your daughter to think about what she has here in the UK.
‘A country where she has safety and freedom of choice compared to Syria where, under IS control, she would have neither.’