The Turkish government has identified the bomber as a 28-year-old Syrian. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly condemned the attack in a televised remarks on Tuesday, and called for the country to be unified against terrorism.
"I would like to state that I strongly condemn the terror incident that happened at Sultanahmet square, which was conducted by a Syrian-linked suicide bomber. this incident showed once more that we should be unified as a nation, against terrorism and terrorist organisations," Erdogan said.
The Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a member, has also strongly denounced the attack, and assured support for Turkey in combating terrorism. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also criticized the attack, calling it a "despicable crime", and offered condolences to the victims' families.
