Three Russians Held In Turkey After Bomb Blast

Germany has taken a noncombat role in the worldwide military effort against the Islamic State group, stationing reconnaissance planes at an air base in Turkey. He said a Syrian was thought responsible and the blast would only harden Turkey’s resolve in fighting terrorism.

A suicide bomber detonated a bomb in the heart of Istanbul’s historic district on Tuesday morning, killing 10 foreigners – majority German tourists – and wounding 15 other people in the latest in a string of attacks by the Islamic extremists targeting Westerners. The attack carried by the Syrian on Tuesday caused even more damage to Turkey’s $30 billion tourism industry.

Star also said a Russian soldier who sparked a protest from Ankara when he carried a missile on his shoulder while on a Russian warship sailing through the Bosporus last December had actually aimed the weapon at Sultanahmet.

Many of those killed and wounded were German tourists.

Turkey says the bomber was a Syrian member of ISIL, of Saudi origin.

Police in the Turkish city of Antalya also seized documents and CDs during a search of the premises where the ISIS suspects were staying, Turkish media reported.

Meanwhile, the number of Germans killed in yesterday’s suicide bombing in Istanbul has risen to ten from nine, a spokeswoman for the German foreign ministry said today. A PKK offshoot, the TAK, fired a mortar at Istanbul airport last month.

Speaking after the an emergency security meeting he pledged to fight the militant group until it no longer “remains a threat” to Turkey or the world.

“I saw the young man pull the pin and I shouted ‘Run!’ in German (‘Lauft weg!’)”.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maziere was scheduled to arrive in Istanbul for talks with his Turkish counterpart and other Turkish officials to discuss the attack. It was Turkey’s deadliest attack.

A senior official said “terrorist links” were suspected in the attack, but declined to comment further.

On 4 January, Turkish intelligence also warned other countries, including Germany, France, and the Netherlands of the risk of attacks, mentioning 13 potential suicide bombers, according to Germany’s Der Spiegel.

“I’ve never heard such a loud explosion in my life”, shop owner Sener Ozdemir, 45, told Anadolu Agency of the blast near Sultanahmet Square.

Foreign tourists are said to be among those killed and injured in a suicide attack in Istanbul’s main tourism district.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the bombing that hit Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet Square, calling it a “despicable crime”, Xinhua reported.