36 injured in Istanbul suicide bomb attack says Health Minister, 12 foreigners among them.

36 injured in Istanbul suicide bomb attack says Health Minister, 12 foreigners among them. (TM).

In a statement on Saturday, after the attack Müezzinoğlu said that 12 of the injured are foreign nationals. "Of the 36 injured, seven are in serious condition. Four of those injured have been taken into surgery" he said speaking to reporters.

"I hope there are no new losses," Müezzinoğlu said.

A media gag order has been issued by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) on the attack took place on Balo Street in front of the Beyoğlu District Governorship building, off İstiklal Avenue, one of İstanbul's busiest streets. Turkish media have reported that the bomber sett of the explosives among a tourist group. Three of the injured are reported to be Israeli tourists.

According to preliminary inspections the explosion is reported to have been the result of a suicide bomber. Police have sealed the street from both sides. No vehicles apart from police vehicles or ambulances are being allowed near the scene of the bombing.

Doğan News Agency reported that 10 of the injured, two of whom are in critical condition, have been taken to Şişli Etfal Hospital.

The attack comes days after Germany’s foreign minister said his country closed its two main diplomatic buildings and two German schools in Turkey over security threats.

"Yesterday evening, some very concrete indications - to be taken very seriously - reached our security services, saying that terror attacks against German institutions within Turkey were being prepared," Deutsche Welle quoted German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as saying on Thursday.

Steinmeier also said that he had ordered German institutions in Turkey to close their doors, "because protecting German citizens and the people working and learning in these establishments must now take precedence."


The German embassy in Ankara, consulate in Istanbul, and two German schools - one in each city - were shut as a result, Steinmeier further said, adding that he had reached the decision overnight. Read the full story here.

3 #Israel citizens (Simha Simon Demri, Yonathan Suher, Avraham Goldman) & 1 #Iran national Ali Reza Razmkhah killed in #Turkey bombing.

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) March 19, 2016

AKP official tweets right after the #Istanbul attack. " I wish that the wounded #Israeli tourists were dead." pic.twitter.com/wjZ80pjJDv

— Aykan Erdemir (@aykan_erdemir) March 19, 2016

Health Minister: "Even though they are foreigners, people are losing their lives" #Turkey https://t.co/BuDGWlDQ6x

— Has Avrat (@hasavrat) March 19, 2016

MFA spokesman @EmmanuelNahshon confirms 3 Israeli nationals injured in Istanbul terror attack

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) March 19, 2016

Unconfirmed reports suggest suspected #ISIL bomber was Savaş Yıldız (33) from #Turkey's Adana. He was on watch list as suicide bomber,

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) March 19, 2016

Yıldız has been roaming freely in #Turkey, paying visits to doctors/pharmacy, covered by gov't health insurance pic.twitter.com/M444tfCBii

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) March 19, 2016

World's best counter-terrorism tactic 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/UQNdoIZAHs

— Hassan Ridha (@sayed_ridha) March 19, 2016

Horrific pictures of the aftermath of the #terrorist attack in #Taksim Square, #Istanbul are being shared. #Turkey pic.twitter.com/D3azeOrI95

— Vsevolod Tkachenko (@vsevolod_tk) March 19, 2016

Major suicide terror attacks in #Turkey in 8 months: No accountability, no resignation pic.twitter.com/xSCGsz5vbD

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) March 19, 2016

The suicide bomber and bystander were killed in what appears to be premature explosion. Police chatter initially suggested blast inside mall

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) March 19, 2016

Have updated my map of the Ankara bombing in accordance with TAK's claims: pic.twitter.com/bPOqDFGGlG

— Ankaralı Jan (@06JAnk) March 17, 2016

#Turkey: Live feed from @CanErzincan_TV from the blast scene in Istanbul' s Beyoğlu https://t.co/7CZ6QTAsWe

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) March 19, 2016

German Consulate Gen warned about potential attacks recent days, and Istanbul Governorate rebuked Consulate for it. https://t.co/gx9l3mtmFb

— ilhan tanir (@WashingtonPoint) March 19, 2016

Turkish gvt. refusing press cards to 8 of some 20 German journos.. Der Spiegel forced to withdraw Istanbul reporter https://t.co/GwM0hkiykQ

— ilhan tanir (@WashingtonPoint) March 18, 2016