Nine German tourists die as suicide bomber strikes in Turkish city

Nine German tourists have been killed after a suicide bomber struck in the heart of Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet tourist district. They were among ten fatalities in the blast, which left 15 people wounded. Turkey’s deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus said the bomber was a 28-year-old Syrian national. The blast went off in the Sultanahmet Square, next to the city’s famous Blue Mosque landmark, at 10.20am local time, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

The explosion was very loud. We shook a lot. We ran out and saw body parts.

A local witness

Six German citizens, one Norwegian and one Peruvian were among the wounded, the Turkish Dogan news agency said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said the Germans involved were from a group travelling together, said: “Today Istanbul was hit; Paris has been hit, Tunisia has been hit, Ankara has been hit before. International terrorism is once again showing its cruel and inhuman face today.” NATO member Turkey has been part of the coalition fighting IS in Syria since 2014, but is also conducting military operations against Kurdish groups it regards as terrorists. Unnamed Turkish security officials told the Reuters news agency that IS militants are suspected to have been responsible for the latest Istanbul blast.

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