Premier Matteo Renzi said that
the West is faced with a tough battle against terrorism after
Tuesday's explosion in Istanbul in which at least 10 people were
killed.
"Before we judge, we must try to understand more," Renzi
told Repubblica.tv when asked about the blast, thought to be
caused by a suicide bomber, in the Turkish city.
"There is certainly a very tough battle to fight against
terrorism and it's necessary to face a question of values and
identity in our lands. The attack in Turkey is a very big wound
but many of the attackers hide and grow in the heart of Europe".
The foreign ministry's crisis unit is at work to verify
whether Italians were hit in Tuesday's blast.
The explosion took place in the historic Sultanahmet
district where the Blue Mosque and other monuments popular with
tourists are situated.
German officials are also at work after reports that nine
of the victims are German.
Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the
bomber was a 28-year-old Syrian and that most of the people
killed were foreigners.
Another 15 people were injured.
The online version of Turkish daily Hürriyet said
investigators believe the bomber was linked to ISIS.
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni had a telephone
conversation with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu after
Tuesday's explosion, the foreign ministry in Rome said.
A statement said that Gentiloni expressed Italy's support
and solidarity for the victims, their families and the Turkish
government.
"Italy and Turkey are more committed against terrorism
than ever before," Gentiloni said.
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