Several injured in explosion in Istanbul

An explosion in a historic district of Istanbul popular with tourists killed 10 people and injured 15 others Tuesday morning, the Istanbul governor’s office said.

The blast may have been caused by a suicide bomber, Haberturk said, without citing its sources.

Ambulances and police were dispatched to Sultanahmet, the city’s main tourist hub, which is home to world-famous monuments including the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, television reports said.

Omer Celik, the spokesman for prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s ruling party, issued a statement condemning what he called “a heinous attack”. TV reports said several were wounded but there was no further detail on the toll. “We ran out and saw body parts”, one woman who works at a nearby antiques store told a Reuters correspondent, declining to give her name. It also urged travellers to stay away from demonstrations and gatherings, particularly in large cities.

Two suicide bombs in October outside Ankara’s main train station as people gathered for a peace rally killed more than 100 people. The prosecutor’s office said the attack was carried out by a local Islamic State cell.

Turkish authorities have in recent weeks detained several suspected Daesh or iSIL, or ISIS members with officials saying they were planning attacks in Istanbul.