At least 10 people are killed after explosion by 'suicide bomber' rips through the main tourist district of Istanbul

 

An ISIS suicide bomber from Syria is believed to be behind a blast that killed ten people and injured 15 others in Istanbul's main tourist district today.

A massive explosion rocked the Sultanahmet neighbourhood where tens of thousands of tourists flock to world-famous monuments every day.

Witnesses said the blast shook buildings and could be heard across the city, while pictures showed corpses and body parts strewn across a square near iconic sites including the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia museum.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said both Turks and foreigners were among the dead, adding that the attack was carried out by a 'suicide bomber of Syrian origin'.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus added that the bomber was a 28-year-old Syrian national, while two senior Turkish security officials said there was a high probability ISIS were responsible. 

European countries including Britain said they were working to establish if any of their citizens had been killed or injured and warned travellers to avoid tourist sites in the city. At least six Germans, one Norwegian and a Peruvian were reportedly among the wounded. 

Terror in Turkey: Ten people have died and 15 others were injured when an explosion from a suspected Syrian suicide bomber ripped through a tourism district in the centre of Istanbul near the Obelisk of Theodosius (top right), a monument from ancient Egypt

Terror attack: Bodies litter a square after an explosion ripped through the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, the city's main tourist hub

Horror: The blast rocked the Sultanahmet neighbourhood in central Istabnul which is visited by tens of thousands of tourists every day

A dead body lies on the ground after an explosion near by Blue Mosque in the Sultanahmet district of central Istanbul

Police cordoned off the area to shocked passers-by and tourists and the nearby tram service has been halted amid fears of a second blast 

Turkish police officers search the area after an explosion near the famous Blue Mosque in the Sultanahmet district of central Istanbul

The blast struck at 8.20am GMT around the Obelisk of Theodosius, a monument from ancient Egypt which was re-erected by the Roman Emperor Theodosius and is one of the city's most eye-catching monuments. 

Police cordoned off the area to shocked passers-by and tourists and the nearby tram service has been halted amid fears of a second blast.  

A German tourist named Caroline said: 'The explosion was so loud, the ground shook. There was a very heavy smell that burned my nose.

'I started running away with my daughter. We went into a nearby building and stayed there for half an hour. It was really scary.' 

Erdem Koroglu, who was working at a nearby office, told NTV television he saw several people lying on the ground.

'It was difficult to say who was alive or dead,' he said. 'Buildings rattled from the force of the explosion.' 

Another witness said: 'The explosion was very loud. We shook a lot. We ran out and saw body parts.' 

Turkey's Dogan news agency reported that at least six Germans, one Norwegian and a Peruvian were among the wounded, while Seoul's Foreign Ministry said one South Korean had a finger injury. 

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