An explosion rocked a central square in Istanbul on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 others, the Istanbul governor’s office said.
The city’s Sultanahmet Square was swarming security forces and ambulances in the aftermath of the blast.
“Investigations continue about the explosion’s cause, the explosive’s types, the perpetrator/perpetrators of the event,” said Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin.
No group immediately claimed responsibility.
The blast comes at a time Turkey is dealing with multiple threats to its security.
“This does seems to be an attack of some kind,” said Sajjan Gohel, the international security director at the Asia Pacific Foundation. “There’s been concern in Turkey for a while. Turkey’s been on higher alert.”
ISIS and the Kurdish-group the PKK have been mentioned in recent outbreaks of violence.
In October, two explosions hit a lunchtime peace rally in Ankara, which called for an end to the renewed conflict between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and Turkish government. Ninety-nine people were killed more than 240 were injured.
ISIS is active in neighboring Iraq.
The Turkish government allows the United States to launch strikes on ISIS positions from Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey. Kurdish forces have been battling ISIS across a swath of northern Iraq and Syria.
