Pursuits
Suicide Blast Kills 10 in Heart of Istanbul Tourist District
- President Erdogan tells diplomats suspect may come from Syria
- Turkish government has been cracking down on militant groups
Istanbul Explosion Leaves 10 Dead in Tourist Area
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A suspected suicide bomb in Istanbul’s main tourist district left 10 people dead and injured 15 more, highlighting deteriorating security in the Middle East’s biggest economy as it faces a series of deadly attacks by Islamic State sympathizers and an insurgency by Kurdish militants.
The explosion on Tuesday morning took place outside key tourist attractions including the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in the district of Sultanahmet, the symbolic heart of Istanbul’s tourism industry. Police cordoned off much of the area as ambulance crews attended to victims, who included visitors from Germany, Russia, Norway, Peru and South Korea, according to media reports.