Turkey's government is set to face renewed pressure at home on its creaking Syria policy following on Tuesday morning's suicide bombing in Istanbul which killed 10 tourists.
At least eight Germans and a Peruvian citizen died in the Islamic State attack that took place along a Roman hippodrome in the historic Sultanahmet district, an area hugely popular with international visitors. Local media reported the bomber, a Syrian, mingled with a group of 33 German tourists before detonating a suicide vest.
"We have determined that the perpetrator of the attack is a foreigner who is a member of Daesh [Islamic State]," said Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to go on the offensive on Tuesday, saying: "Is there any other country that struggles against the terrorist organisation named Daesh in a more determined way than we do and which has paid a higher price?"
Turkey has been criticised for failing to act against Islamic State terrorism at home and in Syria following a series of suicide bombings that have killed 143 people since July. Ankara has also been accused of covertly backing radical opposition groups operating in northern Syria that have been fighting Islamic State jihadists and Kurds.
Mounting pressure
Pressure has also been mounting on Turkey to act on an agreement signed with
European Union
leaders last November to halt the flow of refugees into
Greece
.
But with 2.2 million Syrians already registered as refugees in Turkey, and thousands more believed to live outside the official support system, stemming the tide has proved difficult.
This week, authorities announced work permits would be issued for some Syrians though some Turks fear such a move would lead to increased competition for jobs in an already strained economy.
German chancellor Angela Merkel called an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening to analyse the consequences of the latest terrorist attacks which varied their target but followed the same goal: to undermine "free lives in free societies".
Before the meeting, she expressed her condolences with the families of the German victims.
German officials refused to comment on whether they believed the Germans had been killed randomly or whether the attackers had targeted a German tour group.
"That wouldn't be implausible, it would be rather easy to find a group of German tourists in the middle of Istanbul," said Markus Kaim, security expert with the SWP think tank to ZDF public television.
“It would fit with the larger political situation because, in these days, the German government has begun to expand its military engagement [against Islamic State], and from Turkish territory.”
