Istanbul Bombing
Tuesday, January 12th, ISIS bombs Instanbul, Turkey
At least 10 people killed, 15 injured
Chancellor of Germany, Merkel says "Today Istanbul was hit; Paris has been hit, Ankara has been hit before,” Merkel said. “Once again, international terrorism has shown its cruel and inhumane face.”
A municipality worker cleans the pavement at the site of Tuesday's explosion in the historic Sultanahmet.
A tourist captured the explosion near the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet Square.
Turkish police secure the area after an explosion in the central Istanbul Sultanahmet district on Jan. 12, 2016, in Istanbul.
Clips posted on Twitter show injured or dead people lying on the ground, and a police car on its side in the main square in the area (in video linked above).
Syrian Territory
The 565-mile border with Syria remains difficult to police. The human (overload) of the refugee crisis — Turkey hosts more Syrians than any country, at nearly 2 million and it only adds to the confusion and sense of chaos.
No one knows the group’s location in Turkey better than the Syrians who work against it there. Rebels and activists taking shelter in Turkish towns and cities near the border have experienced a new wave of paranoia, in the wake of the recent murderings of their colleagues.