ISTANBUL—A suicide bomber detonated a bomb in the heart of Istanbul’s historic district on Tuesday, killing 10 foreigners—most of them German tourists—and wounding 15 other people in the latest in a string of attacks by the Islamic extremists targeting Westerners.
The blast, just steps from the historic Blue Mosque and a former Byzantine church in the city’s storied Sultanahmet district, was the first by IS to target Turkey’s vital tourism sector, although IS militants have struck with deadly effect elsewhere in the country.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the bomber was a member of IS and pledged to battle the militant group until it no longer “remains a threat” to Turkey or the world.
Davutoglu described the assailant as a “foreign national,” and Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said he was a Syrian citizen born in 1988. However, the private Dogan news agency said the bomber was Saudi-born. Kurtulmus said the attacker was believed to have recently entered Turkey from Syria and was not among a list of potential bombers wanted by Turkey.
“Turkey won’t backtrack in its struggle against Daesh by even one step,” Davutoglu said, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym. “This terror organization, the assailants and all of their connections will be found and they will receive the punishments they deserve.”
