Turkish Press Review

ISTANBUL

Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

All Turkish dailies Wednesday covered the terrorist attack that hit Istanbul’s historical Sultanahmet district, killing 10 people and injuring 15 others, many of them German tourists.

Haberturk picked up on the nationality of most of those killed with the headline “Im Herzen bei Euch” -- German for “In Your Hearts” -- above the names of the victims.

Turkey’s newspapers were divided on the number of Germans killed with Hurriyet, Yeni Safak and Sabah reporting ten German tourists killed and Haberturk claiming eight Germans were among the dead.

Haberturk reported that 11 Germans, a Norwegian and a Peruvian were injured in the suicide bombing.

The newspaper also carried a photograph of the suspected bomber, identified as Nabil Fadli, a Syrian national born in Saudi Arabia. The image showed a man who appeared in his late 20s with a goatee beard and dressed in a dark coat and trousers.

“Again ISIL” was Vatan’s headline, using a different acronym for Daesh, who have been identified as being behind the attack by the Turkish prime minister.

“The terrorist group ISIL targeted German tourists in Istanbul after the Suruc and Ankara bombings,” the daily said, referring to previous Daesh-linked suicide attacks that killed more than 130 people last year.

Vatan reported that the sound of the explosion was so loud that it was heard in neighborhoods several kilometers from the blast site.

The daily also said nine prosecutors had been assigned to investigate the attack.

Milliyet reported the atrocity with the headline “Malicious Attack in Sultanahmet”. It’s front page carried a picture of the scene sealed off by police tape.

The newspaper noted the response of France’s consul general in Istanbul, Muriel Domenach, who declared “Je Suis Istanbul” on social media after the attack -- an echo of the slogan used following the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris last year.

Hurriyet said tourist guide Sibel Satiroglu, who was injured in the leg by the blast, prevented a greater tragedy by shouting a warning in German before the attack.

“Their target is Turkey” was the headline selected by both Bugun and Sabah.