Eight Germans killed in Istanbul attack: Merkel

January 13, 2016 | 10:14

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At least eight Germans were killed in Tuesday's suicide bombing attack that struck the heart of Istanbul's tourist district, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding that Berlin would put up a determined fight against terror.

Forensic experts pictured near the site of a blast in the Blue Mosque area of Istanbul's tourist hub of Sultanahmet. (AFP/Bulent Kilic)

BERLIN: At least eight Germans were killed in Tuesday's (Jan 12) suicide bombing attack that struck the heart of Istanbul's tourist district, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding that Berlin would put up a determined fight against terror.

Telling families of the victims that "we stand by your side," Merkel also offered her sympathies to the Turkish people.

"We feel a sense of solidarity with Turkey," she said, adding that those who carry out such attacks, be it in Paris, or Copenhagen or Istanbul, have the same target - "our free life and free society".

"The terrorists are the enemies of all free people, they are enemies of humanity, be it in Syria, Turkey or France or Germany," she said, stressing that Berlin would fight such terror "with determination".

Germany's Foreign Minister Franz-Walter Steinmeier earlier said that nine other Germans had been injured in the Istanbul attack, some of them seriously.

A Turkish official had earlier said that at least nine Germans were among 10 people killed in the suicide bombing that ripped through the historic Sultanahmet district. Shortly after the attack, Berlin warned its nationals to avoid crowds and tourist sites in Istanbul.

AFP

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