ISTANBUL // Turkish police have arrested five people suspected of being involved in the suicide bombing that ripped through the historic heart of Istanbul, killing 10 German tourists.
Security forces have also detained 74 suspected ISIL members across the country. It was not clear if any were thought to be directly connected to Tuesday’s bombing.
Ankara has blamed the attack on a 28-year-old Syrian who belonged to ISIL and had recently entered Turkey from Syria as a refugee.
He was fingerprinted by the Turkish migration service upon arrival, but his movements were not monitored as he was not on any watch lists, Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday.
One suspect with a link to the attack was detained in Istanbul late on Tuesday, said interior minister Efkan Ala. Hours later, Mr Davutoglu announced the arrest of four other people as part of the investigation. No further details were provided.
The German foreign ministry on Wednesday confirmed that 10 of its citizens were killed, but German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said there was “no indication” the attack specifically targeted Germans.
However, the German foreign ministry has advised its nationals to keep away from large groups in public places and tourist attractions in Istanbul.
The bomber, identified as Nabil Fadli, blew himself up in Sultanahmet Square – home to Turkey’s most visited historic sites including the Ottoman-era Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia church.
The explosion went off by the Obelisk of Theodosius, a monument from ancient Egypt, one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.
Turkey has been hit by a string of deadly attacks blamed on extremists over the past year, including a double suicide bombing in October in Ankara that killed more than 100 people.
But Tuesday’s bombing was the first time in recent memory tourists were targeted in the heart of Istanbul.
The Hurriyet daily said Turkey’s spy agency had twice issued warnings over the risk of a suicide attack in Istanbul.
Mr Davutoglu and Mr de Maiziere placed red roses by the Obelisk, which appeared to be undamaged.
The blast left 15 people wounded, most of them Germans but also Norwegians, Peruvians and one Turk.
Berlin said seven injured Germans were being treated in hospital, five of them in intensive care.
The tourists were part of a group of 33 who had been staying at a boutique hotel in the upmarket Galata district and had been taken by bus to Sultanahmet that morning.
“I saw the young man pull the pin and I shouted ‘run’ in German. Then we started to run away, and the bomb instantly exploded,” the group’s tour guide Sibel Satiroglu told investigators, the Hurriyet newspaper said.
Long accused of failing to crack down on ISIL, Turkey has in recent months moved against extremist cells operating on its territory, making hundreds of arrests.
Among the 74 arrested over the last two days were 16 people suspected of planning a major attack in Ankara, Anatolia news agency said.
Three more suspected ISIL members – all Russian – were detained on Wednesday in the southern resort city of Antalya. In the major southern hub of Adana, 17 people were arrested, including three more Russians as well as Tajiks, Afghans and a Swedish citizen.
A week before the attack, 220 people “identified” as ISIL members were detained in Turkey, interior minister Ala said.
* Agence France-Presse
