World condemns deadly Istanbul blast
January 12, 2016, 4:41 pm

Turkish police cordoned off the area of the attack, a very popular rest area between two landmark historic buildings in a tourist district in Istanbul [Xinhua]

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that a suicide bomber belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) carried out the attack in the Sultanahmet district of the city, where the Sultan Ahmet Camii (Blue Mosque) and Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia church museum) are located.

“These terrorists (are) targeting the whole of civilization,” Davutoglu said in a press conference.

Although there has not yet been a claim of responsibility, some Turkish officials said that the suicide bomber may have been Syrian.

Police officials said that nine German tourists were among the dead and that all the injured were likely foreign nationals, including Norwegian, Peruvian and South Korean tourists.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told journalists at a press conference that global terrorism had again reared its “cruel and inhuman face:.

“Today Istanbul was hit; Paris has been hit, Tunisia has been hit, Ankara has been hit before,” Merkel said.

In Greece, the foreign ministry expressed solidarity with the Turkish people.

“We unequivocally condemn the abhorrent terrorist suicide attack. We express our solidarity with the Turkish people, our deep condolences to the families of the victims, and our wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured,” the ministry’s statement said.

UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond called the blast “shocking” while the government of Singapore condemned “the act of terror against innocent civilians”.

“Appalled by barbaric attacks in #Ankara – my thoughts are with the loved ones of those killed and injured. uk stands with the Turkish ppl,” Hammond said on his Twitter account.

“Turkish people and all political forces must stand united against terrorists and against all those who try to destabilize a country that is facing many threats,” European Union officials said.

The Istanbul suicide bombing came a day after Iraqi authorities blamed ISIL for bombings and attacks, which killed 51 and wounded dozens in the capital Baghdad and surrounding towns.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls condemned the attack in Istanbul and called on Paris, Ankara and all nations afflicted by terrorism to support one another and cooperate to combat the global terrorist threat.

Pitch battle

Turkey says it is in a pitch battle against the Islamist extremist group, ISIL.

In October, two ISIL suicide bombers killed and injured more than 100 people at a train station in central Ankara, the capital.

On July 20, a male suicide bomber killed 32 demonstrators in Suruc, near the Syrian border and regions held by ISIL.

They had been peacefully calling on help to rebuild the Syrian town of Kobani (Ain Al Arab) which was earlier this year liberated from ISIL’s hold.

More than 100 people were wounded in the attack.

In late July, NATO held an emergency meeting and pledged support for Turkey’s campaigns against ISIL.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies