Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Terror attack in Istanbul

Betty MacDonald fan club fans,
we are sending all our love and support to our Betty MacDonald fan club fans in Germany.
We are praying for the victims and their families.
All our love,
Eva
 
Linde Lund shared German Embassy Washington's photo.
6 mins ·
all our love and support to our German friends



Sadly, Foreign Minister Steinmeier has confirmed that eight German citizens were among those killed in the terrorist attack in Istanbul today. We mourn for all the victims of the attack. Here in Washington, DC, our flags in front of the embassy are now at half-mast.


We are very sad and praying for the victimes. 

Astrid, Linde and Lund family

German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed the deaths of at least eight German nationals. "I mourn for our compatriots and express my sympathy for the relatives....
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A suicide bomber identified as a Syrian kills 10 people, at least nine of them German tourists, in the Turkish city of Istanbul, officials say.
bbc.com


Istanbul blast: nine of the 10 killed were German, reports claim - as it happened

  • Istanbul governor says 10 people killed and 15 wounded
  • Bomber reportedly identified from body parts as Syrian born in 1988
  • Broadcast ban imposed
  • PM Davutoğlu chairs security meeting
  • Read the latest summary


Istanbul paramedics treat people injured in explosion
 

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At least 10 dead in Istanbul blast

AFP and Network WritersNews Corp Australia Network
A SYRIAN suicide bomber has blown himself up in Istanbul’s busiest tourist district, killing 10 people and injuring at least 15 more.
Grisly images from the scene showed several mutilated corpses close to the iconic Ottoman-era Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet, Turkey’s historic district, after Tuesday’s attack.
“I strongly condemn the terror attack which was carried out by a suicide bomber of Syrian origin,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. “This incident showed one more time that we should be united against terror.”
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the attacker belonged to Islamic State.
“We have determined that the perpetrator of the attack is a foreigner who is a member of Daesh,” Davutoglu said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
Officials earlier said the bomber was a Syrian national born in 1988.
Police reportedly caught a female suicide bomber about to carry out another attack minutes later.
Attacks ... the attack allegedly targeted German tourists in the historic Sultanahmet district. They were escorted back to their hotel in Istanbul after the attack. Picture: AP Photo/Omer Kuscu
Attacks ... the attack allegedly targeted German tourists in the historic Sultanahmet district. They were escorted back to their hotel in Istanbul after the attack. Picture: AP Photo/Omer KuscuSource:AP
Scene ... rescue services rushed to the scene of an explosion in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. Picture: AP Photo/Emrah Gurel
Scene ... rescue services rushed to the scene of an explosion in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. Picture: AP Photo/Emrah GurelSource:AP
A Turkish official said at least nine of the dead were German, with Davutoglu telephoning Chancellor Angela Merkel to offer his condolences, state media said.
Merkel said the latest attack would deepen German resolve to combat international terrorism.
“Today it hit Istanbul, it has hit Paris, it hit Tunisia, it had already hit Ankara,” she told a news conference in Berlin.

Istanbul blast scene

Police and ambulances raced to the scene, throwing up a tight security cordon around the area as helicopters hovered overhead, and crowds of worried locals and tourists clamoured to find out what had happened, an AFP correspondent said.
The explosion took place about 10.20am Tuesday (7.20pm Tuesday AEDT) by the Obelisk of Theodosius, an ancient Egyptian monument which was re-erected by the Roman Emperor Theodosius. It stands just outside the Blue Mosque.
Scene ... the Blue Mosque near the site of a blast in Istanbul's tourist hub of Sultanahmet which left 10 people dead. Picture: AFP
Scene ... the Blue Mosque near the site of a blast in Istanbul's tourist hub of Sultanahmet which left 10 people dead. Picture: AFPSource:AFP
Investigation ... police search the area at the historic Sultanahmet district after an explosion. Picture: AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis
Investigation ... police search the area at the historic Sultanahmet district after an explosion. Picture: AP Photo/Lefteris PitarakisSource:AP
The explosion was powerful enough to be heard in adjacent neighbourhoods, witnesses told AFP. Police cordoned off the area to shocked passers-by and tourists and the nearby tram service has been halted.
“The explosion was so loud, the ground shook. there was a very heavy smell that burned my nose,” a German tourist named Caroline told AFP. “I started running away with my daughter. We went into a nearby building and stayed there for half an hour. It was really scary,.”
Containment ... policemen install security barriers at the historic Sultanahmet district, which is popular with tourists, after an explosion in Istanbul. Picture: AP
Containment ... policemen install security barriers at the historic Sultanahmet district, which is popular with tourists, after an explosion in Istanbul. Picture: APSource:AP
TURKEY ON HIGH ALERT
Turkey is on alert after 103 people were killed on October 10 when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of peace activists in Ankara, the bloodiest attack in the country’s modern history.
That attack was blamed on ISIS jihadists, as were two other deadly bombings in the country’s Kurdish-dominated southeast earlier in the year.
Investigation ... policemen secure the historic Sultanahmet district, as ambulances arrive. Picture: AP
Investigation ... policemen secure the historic Sultanahmet district, as ambulances arrive. Picture: APSource:AP
Turkish authorities have in recent weeks detained several suspected ISIS members, with officials saying they were planning attacks in Istanbul.
But Turkey is also waging an all-out assault on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has staged dozens of deadly attacks against members of the security forces in the southeast.
The PKK launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984, initially fighting for Kurdish independence although now more for greater autonomy and rights for the country’s largest ethnic minority.
Blast ... Turkish security members stand near the city's landmark Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque after an explosion at Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district. Picture: AP
Blast ... Turkish security members stand near the city's landmark Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque after an explosion at Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district. Picture: APSource:AP
The conflict, which has left tens of thousands of people dead, looked like it could be nearing a resolution until an uneasy truce was shattered in July.
A Kurdish splinter group, the Freedom Falcons of Kurdistan (TAK), claimed a mortar attack on Istanbul’s second international airport on December 23 which killed a female cleaner and damaged several planes.
Meanwhile the banned ultra-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) has also staged a string of usually small-scale attacks in Istanbul over the last months.
Tribute ... members of the Turkish medical association lay flowers in Istanbul's tourist hub of Sultanahmet where at least 10 people were killed and 15 wounded in a suspected terrorist attack. Picture: AFP/Ozan Kose
Tribute ... members of the Turkish medical association lay flowers in Istanbul's tourist hub of Sultanahmet where at least 10 people were killed and 15 wounded in a suspected terrorist attack. Picture: AFP/Ozan KoseSource:AFP