Five arrested in connection with Istanbul ISIS suicide bombing that killed 10 tourists
FIVE people have been arrested on suspicion of having direct links to the terror attack in Istanbul which killed 10 people yesterday.
The moment the suicide bomb was detonated
Turkish officials said they had also arrested more than 70 other people who were linked to the ISIS-linked attack, which killed 10 German tourists in Sultanahmet Square near the Turkish city's famous Blue Mosque.
Police were able to identify the suicide bomber who carried out the attack as Saudi Arabia born Syrian national Nabil Fadli.
Earlier today, police raided a home in Istanbul, detaining a woman because a mobile phone linked to her - which she said had been stolen - was used to call the killer.
She was released after questioning.
Istanbul clean-up after terror attack kills 10 people
There can't be any connection to our contribution to the fight against international terrorism
Germany sent a team of investigators to Istanbul on Wednesday from its Federal Criminal Police Office, which is comparable to the FBI, to support Turkish authorities investigating the attack.
Germany's Foreign Ministry said the number of dead Germans in Tuesday's explosion had risen to 10, but German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said there was no sign that Germans were specifically targeted.
He said: "According to the investigations so far, there are no indications that the attack was directed specifically against Germans, so there can't be any connection to our contribution to the fight against international terrorism."
Ahmet Davutoglu and Thomas de Maiziere
The news comes after it emerged the bomber entered Turkey as a refugee and his movements were not monitored as he was not on any watch lists, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday.
Asked whether Turkey planned air strikes against Islamic State in response to the bombing, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey would act at a time and in a manner that it saw fit.
He said Russia's entry into the Syrian civil war had become a barrier to Turkish air strikes against Islamic State, and that the Russian air force appeared to be protecting the radical Sunni militants.
Tributes have been paid in Istanbul
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his country would not make any further immediate changes to its travel advice for Turkey but could do so as the investigation into Tuesday's Istanbul bombing progresses.
The Foreign Ministry advised Germans after the attack to avoid crowds in public places and outside tourist sites in Istanbul.
People paying tribute to the 10 people killed in Istanbul
The explosion comes as Turkey struggles to deal with outbreaks of violence from Islamic State (ISIS) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Two suicide blasts in the capital Ankara in October 2015 killed more than 100 people and injured 245 others during a march organised by leftist groups.
The attack is the deadliest ever of its kind on Turkish soil.