Off the wire
• 1st LD-Writethru: Chinese stocks plunge Wednesday despite strong trade data  • Three detained for involvement in making smoked meat from rare animals  • China's leading cell phone provider Xiaomi wants sizable market shares in Dubai, MENA  • 1st LD-Writethru: China sets floor for retail fuel pricing  • China's startup boom continues despite slowing growth  • Roundup: Obama's final State of the Union speech: much talk, few proposals  • 5 militants killed in cleanup operations in northern Afghan city  • 1st LD: Iran releases detained U.S. sailors in Persian Gulf: TV  • Roundup: Singapore stocks end up 0.18 pct  • Chinese agricultural demo center in Zimbabwe to multiply  
You are here: 　 Home

Turkey detains one suspect over Istanbul bombing: Turkish minister

Xinhua, January 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkish police has detained one suspect over a suicide bombing that hit Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet Square on Tuesday, killing 10 people, Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said on Wednesday.

The minister's remarks came at a press conference with his German counterpart. Nine of the 10 killed were reportedly German tourists.

The minister said 17 others were injured, adding that nine of them are German citizens, one from Peru, the rest from Norway. A total of 11 are still at the hospital, including two in critical condition, Ala said.

The Turkish minister assured foreigners visiting Turkey that the government has taken necessary measures to ensure security.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Tuesday said the attacker is a member of Islamic State (IS) group, which is blamed for a number of deadly attacks in Turkey.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters on Tuesday. He noted that the bomber, who was Syrian origin born in 1988 and identified from the body parts at the scene, recently entered Turkey from Syria.

Turkey has suffered from a series of deadly attacks. In July 2015, a bombing attack in the border town of Suruc in southeastern Turkey left 34 pro-Kurdish and left-wing activists killed. In last October, twin suicide bombings hit the capital city Ankara, claiming a total of 103 lives. Both were blamed on the Islamic State (IS) militant group. Endit