From the time AKP lost its absolute majority in parliament in June of last year, Turkey has been a hotbed for violence.
A suicide bomber killed more than two dozen people in Suruc the month after the elections, setting the stage for six months of turmoil including a deadly blast in Ankara that left more than 100 dead in October. Some have suggested the Erdogan regime staged the attacks in an effort to show Turks why a “strong” AKP government is necessary to keep the "peace".
On Tuesday we get the latest tragedy out of Turkey as at least 10 are dead in a suicide attack on Istanbul. The explosion rocked Sultanahmet Square outside the city’s Blue Mosque injuring 15 in addition to those killed.
“Police immediately shut down the site of the blast as graphic images emerged on social media of bodies in the main plaza in Istanbul’s old town, which is surrounded by the Ottoman-era Topkapi palace, the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, a sixth century church that is now a museum,” WSJ reports, adding that “the Turkish government quickly imposed a blanket media ban on coverage of the incident as investigators scoured the scene for evidence.”
Sultanahmet'te Gerçekle?en Patlama ?le ?lgili ?lk Aç?klama
https://t.co/urbfVC5ApY pic.twitter.com/O2PyV5vVuH
— TGB Ankara (@TGBAnkara) January 12, 2016
Sultanahmet'teki patlama sonras? bir polis arac?... Allah esirgesin https://t.co/2XYTOMxoBR pic.twitter.com/4sZc075i0J
— Faruk (@farukonalan) January 12, 2016
Here's Reuters with more:
An explosion in the heart of Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet tourist district killed at least ten people and wounded 15 on Tuesday and some local media reports said a suicide bomber may have been responsible.
Several bodies lay on the ground in the Sultanahmet square, close to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, a major tourist area of Turkey's most populous city. A police officer and witness at the scene reported also seeing several bodies and body parts.
Tourists from Germany and Norway were among the wounded, broadcaster CNN Turk said. An official from one tour company told Reuters a group from Germany was in the area at the time but said there was no immediate information on whether any of them had been injured.
The attack at the heart of one of the world's most visited cities comes as Turkey battles Kurdish militants in its southeast and Islamic State insurgents just across its southern borders in Syria and Iraq.
"We heard a loud sound and I looked at the sky to see if it was raining because I thought it was thunder but the sky was clear," a Kuwaiti tourist said. "The explosion was very loud. We shook a lot. We ran out and saw body parts," a local shop owner added.