At least 10 people were killed and 15 were seriously injured after a suicide bomb attack at the central Istanbul Sultan Ahmet Square in Turkey, the press service of the governor's administration said.
The attack occurred in the Sultan Ahmet district, the historic center of Istanbul at 11.20 MSK, when a group of German tourists was passing by. All the victims were sent to a local hospital.
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports that the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber, but there are no official statements about the incident. According to the newspaper, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the foreign tourists.
The Turkish authorities have increased security measures at airports in Istanbul.
The Azerbaijani Embassy in Turkey and the country's consulate general in Istanbul are investigating the presence of Azerbaijanis among the Istanbul blast victims, the diplomatic mission said. Azerbaijani diplomats are keeping in touch with the law enforcement agencies of Turkey, Trend reports.
According to preliminary data, the explosion killed at least nine German tourists, Report.az reports with reference to Turkish media.
The Russian Consulate General in Ankara is seeking to clarify whether any Russian citizens were injured in the explosion that shook Istanbul earlier in the day, the Russian Embassy's spokesman Igor Mityakov said.
"There is currently no information on whether any Russian citizens were among those injured. Our Consulate General in Istanbul is clarifying the matter," Mityakov said.
There cannot be organized tourists, as Russian tour operators were advised not to send their clients to Turkey, but there could be travellers who come to this country on their own, the press secretary of the Russian Union of the Travel Industry, Irina Turina, said.
It is known that a citizen of South Korea was injured, the Yonhap news agency reported with reference to a source in the country's general consulate in Turkey.
Local media also reported that the Turkish authorities imposed a temporary media ban on coverage of the explosion. The ban on the distribution of information will affect all kinds of news, interviews, analyses and other article formats in the printed press, on television, on the radio, via social networks and on the Internet. The decision will take effect immediately, all Turkish media outlets were officially notified.
Police tightened security measures around the area. According to Reuters, the authorities are investigating the type of explosive used and who might have been responsible.
Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu is holding an emergency meeting in connection with the explosion in Istanbul, Agence France-Presse reports.
