Jodi Hilton/NurPhoto/ZUMA Press
One day after ISIS claimed responsibility for a major attack on a mall in Baghdad, a suspected member of the terrorist group killed 10 people in a suicide bombing in the heart of Istanbul’s most famous tourist area on Tuesday.
The identity of the bomber has not yet been revealed—President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said the bomber was a 28-year-old Syrian, while Turkey’s DHA news agency claimed the attacker was a Saudi named Nabil Fadli—but government officials have placed the blame squarely on ISIS. “We have determined that the perpetrator of the attack is a foreigner who is a member of Daesh,” said Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu in a televised address, using a derogatory Arabic name for ISIS.
The attack took place in Sultanahmet Square, a short distance from the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and other major historical sites. Turkish officials told the media that nine of the victims were Germans, and Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu confirmed in a televised address that most of the dead were Germans, but did not specify a number. The 10th victim was a Peruvian tourist, according to Peru’s foreign ministry.
