Blast causes casualties in Istanbul tourist spot

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in televised remarks that both Turks and foreigners were among the dead in the explosion in the Sultanahmet district.

He said most of the victims were foreigners. Merkel had earlier said they were part of a German travel group. It was not densely packed at the time of the explosion, according to a police officer working there, but small groups of tourists had been wandering around.

The explosion took place near the famous Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul, and reports suggest the blast could be heard from several neighborhoods. Shortly after the blast, Germany had warned its nationals to avoid tourist sites in Istanbul, a city of 14 million that has been hit several by deadly attacks.

The explosion occurred by the obelisk of Theodosius in Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul, in the heart of the city’s tourist district.

Hundreds have died in the south-eastern Turkey fighting, including members of the security forces, militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and civilians. That attack was initially claimed by a far-left group, the DHKP-C, but officials later said it had been carried out by a woman with suspected Islamist militant links.

The Sultanahmet neighborhood-which features popular tourist destinations like Topkapi Palace and the former Byzantine church of Haghia Sophia-was sealed off by police until the area could be cleared of any other potential explosive devices. “I heard a very loud blast, then came the screams”, said a Turkish man who did not want to be identified.

More than 30 people were killed in a suicide attack in the town of Suruc, near Turkey’s border with Syria, in July.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu immediately convened a security meeting with the country’s interior minister and other officials.

The authorities hold Islamic State responsible for three major attacks past year – all targeting pro-Kurdish rallies – but the group has never claimed an attack in Turkey.

The authorities imposed a broadcast ban on reporting of the attack, prompting television channels to halt live broadcasting from the scene although factual commentaries continued.

Turkey has been on high alert after a series of attacks blamed on the Islamic State jihadist group including a double suicide bombing in October in Ankara that killed 103 people.