Germans killed in bombing attack in Istanbul

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere will fly to Istanbul on Wednesday, January 13, following a suicide bomb attack there that killed 10 tourists, majority Germans, his ministry said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also confirmed in a televised speech that all the victims were foreigners and majority were German tourists.

Senior Research Analyst at Euromonitor International Kinda Chebib, a London-based market intelligence firm, said the attack is expected to “impact negatively on inbound flow to Turkey on the short-to-medium term”.

It also expressed its condolences to the victims, their families and Turkish people.

Turkish officials said that the bomber was Syrian, but it was not yet clear whom they were affiliated with, if anyone. It was unclear last night whether the death toll included the alleged bomber. “Global terrorism is once again showing its cruel and inhuman face today”, she said.

The blast struck a park 30-yards from the historic Blue Mosque and it could be heard across a wide area.

In the wake of the attack, Denmark and Germany issued warnings to tourists from their countries, urging them to avoid crowds outside tourist attractions in Turkey.

Violence has also escalated in the mainly Kurdish southeast since a two-year ceasefire collapsed in July between the state and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) armed group, which has been fighting for three decades for Kurdish autonomy. Turkey has since blamed the attack on the ISIS as the bomber was later identified as a member of the Islamic state.

Shadow Foreign Office minister Pat Glass said: “Our thoughts are with anyone caught up in this bad situation”.

A spokeswoman for Norway’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters that a Norwegian citizen was among the injured, and was being treated in hospital for light, non-life-threatening injuries. Last year, Turkey joined the U.S.-coalition against the extremists after some initial hesitancy. We feel the people of Turkey in solidarity combined.

“Turkish people and all political forces must stand united against terrorists and against all those who try to destabilize a country that is facing many threats”, European Union officials said.

More than 100 people were killed in Turkey’s deadliest attack when two suicide bombs exploded as people gathered in October for a peace rally outside Ankara’s main railway station.

The Chancellor moved the fence in connection with other attacks of the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS).