Istanbul bomber registered with authorities, but was not on wanted list: minister

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Police and security services secure the area around the Obelisk of Theodosius at Sultanahmet square in Istanbul, Turkey January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

Turkey’s interior minister said on Wednesday the suicide bomber in an attack which killed 10 people in Istanbul’s historic tourist district a day earlier was not on any wanted list but had registered with Turkey’s immigration authorities.

Efkan Ala said the man’s fingerprints were on record with the Turkish authorities, when asked about a report in the Turkish media that the man had registered at an immigration office in Istanbul a week ago.

“Your assessment that his fingerprints were taken and there is a record of him is correct. But he was not on the wanted individuals list. And neither is he on the target individuals list sent to us by other countries,” Ala told a news conference.

A Syrian suicide bomber on Tuesday struck the heart of Istanbul’s busiest tourist district, killing 10 people, in the latest deadly attack blamed on Islamic State terrorists.