An explosion in the heart of Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet tourist district killed at least 10 people and wounded 15 on Tuesday and some local media reports said a suicide bomber may have been responsible.
Several bodies lay on the ground in the Sultanahmet square, close to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, a major tourist area of Turkey’s most populous city. A police officer and witness at the scene reported also seeing several bodies and body parts.
Tourists from Germany and Norway were among the wounded, broadcaster CNN Turk said. An official from one tour company told Reuters a group from Germany was in the area at the time but said there was no immediate information on whether any of them had been injured.
The attack at the heart of one of the world’s most visited cities comes as Turkey battles Kurdish militants in its southeast and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) insurgents just across its southern borders in Syria and Iraq.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Kurdish, leftist and Islamist militants have all carried out attacks in Turkey in the past.
The Istanbul governor’s office said the authorities were investigating the type of explosive used and who might have been responsible.Speech(Reuters)
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