Eight Germans killed in Istanbul attack: Merkel

Police secure the area after an explosion in central Istanbul, Jan. 12, 2016.

A suicide bomber linked to ISIS killed 10 foreigners and wounded 15 other people in a popular tourist area in Istanbul on Tuesday morning, Turkish officials said.

Turkish authorities have said a 28-year-old Syrian national carried out the attack in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district, a main tourist hub.

The Sultanahmet district is heavily populated by tourists since it houses the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia in addition to hundreds of hotels and restaurants.

A Saudi-born suicide bomber affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has detonated a bomb in a historic district of Istanbul killing at least 10 people, including at least eight Germans, officials say. He would not provide details on the investigation, saying it would compromise those efforts.

Officials say nine Germans and two South Koreans were killed.

Long accused of failing to crack down on IS, Turkey has in recent months moved against cells operating on its territory after several deadly attacks blamed on the group.

John Kirby, spokesman for the US State Department, also strongly condemned the suicide bomb attack in Istanbul, while expressing deepest condolences to the families of the killed.

Personal travel advisor Jenny Jackson said she had also noted that customers seemed to be actively staying away from both Turkey and Egypt’s red sea resorts.

Speaking on Tuesday, Erdogan slammed a letter signed by 1,128 academics from 89 countries calling on the Turkish government “to cease the violence it has inflicted on its citizens” in the southeast. Turkey opened its bases to USA aircraft to launch air raids on the extremist group in Syria and has carried out a limited number of strikes on the group itself.

“The explosion was so loud, the ground shook. there was a very heavy smell that burned my nose”, a German tourist named Caroline told the AFP news agency.

The Russian consulate confirmed the arrests to Russian news agency RIA, though it remains unclear if there is a direct connection to the Istanbul attack.

It has also been one of IS’s targets, with two of last year’s bombings blamed on the group, including one in the capital of Ankara which killed more than 100 people.

Maiziere said there was no information to suggest that German citizens were hit because of Germany’s fight against terrorism.

Tensions between Russia and Turkey have been high after Ankara shot down a Russian fighter jet close to the Turkey-Syria border in November.