Was this retaliation for Turkey taking part in the coalition’s airstrikes in Syria? Or was it a rogue operator?

It’s unclear, but according to Turkish officials, this much is: at least 10 foreigners are dead and 15 are wounded after a suicide bomber linked to ISIS (Islamic State, IS, ISIL, Daesh) detonated in a popular tourist area in the city of Istanbul on Tuesday morning.

The deputy prime minister of Turkey reported that the bomber was a Syrian national in his late 20s.

A number of media sources have reported that most of those killed were German.

This from NBC News:

Tuesday’s explosion struck close to a monument called the German Fountain, between the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sofia — the city’s famous landmark-turned-museum and one of Istanbul’s most popular tourist spots.

Surrounding streets were closed by authorities in the aftermath and many shops and hotels appeared to have shut their doors. Armed officers and riot police guarded a wider perimeter.

The blast could be heard for miles across the city, and following the explosion there was a flood of activity on social media from people checking on their friends and family.

The leader of Germany has already made a defining statement on the atrocity.

“Today Istanbul was hit; Paris has been hit, Tunisia has been hit, Ankara has been hit before,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference. “International terrorism is once again showing its cruel and inhuman face today.”

UPDATE: 

Stay tuned to the blog for more on this developing story.