© 2016 BBC
Brilio.net/en - Tragedy strikes in Istanbul as 10 people are killed in Turkeys capital on Tuesday at 10:20am. There was no immediate claim from the ISIL but it is suspected that the suicide bomber was a member from Syria. All of those killed near the tourist site were foreigners, with at least 8 tourists from Germany and one from Peru.
Photo: 2016 BBC
The blast wounded another 15 between the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque tourist attractions. Norwegians foreign ministry has said that one Norwegian man was also injured and being treated.
From some physical remains, Turkish officials were able to determine that the suicide bomber was born in 1988. Turkish authorities are claiming he is not one of the thousands of Syrian immigrants that was on the watch list after seeking refuge from Syria.
Turkey has strengthened its support against IS last year, and taken a more active role in supporting the U.S. led air strikes campaign. It has also allowed the U.S. warplanes to strike IS targets from its base in Incirlik and tightened security along its border with Syria. These actions, coupled with the high tourism in Istanbul lead Sajjan Gohel, the international security director at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, to believe that the site of the attack was strategically chosen. The type of monuments that are in the Sultanahmet Square are the type that ISIS has been blowing up in Syria. Its a place where you have a mesh of identities. Its a real melting pot.
Photo: 2016 yahoo
German chancellor Angela Merkel vowed no respite in the fight against IS. She stated: International terror chooses different locations for its attacks but the target is always the same: our free life in free societiesIt is precisely this freedom and our determination together with our international partners to act against these terrorists, that will go on.
(Reported by: Ivana Lucic)
(brl/tis)
