土耳其爆炸致10死15傷 Suicide bomber brings carnage to Istanbul tourist district

Turkey blamed a Syrian suicide bomber from Isis for a large explosion that killed 10 including at least eight German tourists in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district yesterday.

昨日，土耳其伊斯坦布爾市歷史悠久的蘇丹艾哈邁德廣場(Sultanahmet)發生大爆炸，導致包括至少8名德國遊客在內10人死亡。土耳其當局指責一名來自“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)的敘利亞自殺式炸彈襲擊者對此負責。

The blast occurred at 10.15am in Sultanahmet, a thriving tourist area close to attractions such as the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya.

爆炸上午10點一刻發生在蘇丹艾哈邁德廣場，該廣場是一個人流密集的旅遊區，靠近藍色清真寺(Blue Mosque)、聖索菲亞大教堂(Aya Sofya)等著名景點。

Ahmet Davutoglu, the prime minister, said the attacker belonged to Isis and that the dead and wounded were foreigners. “We know that he [the bomber] is a foreign citizen and a Daesh member,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the jihadi group.

土耳其總理阿赫邁特達烏特奧盧(Ahmet Davutoglu)表示，襲擊者來自ISIS，死者和傷者都外國人。“我們獲悉他（炸彈襲擊者）是一名外國公民、‘達伊沙’(Daesh)成員，”他說，並用阿拉伯語縮寫指稱該聖戰組織。

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, said the country was being targeted for its campaign against “terrorist” organisations in the region. “This incident once again has shown us that we have to stay united against terrorism,” he said in televised remarks.

土耳其總統雷傑普吠伊普埃爾多安(Recep Tayyip Erdogan)表示，土耳其因打擊該地區的“恐怖”組織而成爲襲擊目標。他在電視講話中稱：“這一事件再次表明，我們必須團結起來打擊恐怖主義。”

The German government said at least eight of the dead and many of the 15 people injured were Germans. The explosion took place not far from a fountain memorialising the visit of the German emperor to Istanbul in 1898.

德國政府表示，至少8名死者以及15名傷者中的許多人都是德國人。爆炸地點距離一座紀念德國皇帝1898年訪問伊斯坦布爾的噴泉不遠。

Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, said international terrorism “once again shows us its brutal and inhuman face”.

德國總理安格拉默克爾(Angela Merkel)表示，國際恐怖主義“再一次向我們展示了它殘暴、非人性的一面”。

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, struck a similar tone, describing the act as a “barbaric, cowardly act of terror” and lamenting that it had targeted the heart of Istanbul, which “we all value for its openness to the world”.

德國外長弗蘭克-瓦爾特施泰因邁爾(Frank-Walter Steinmeier)表達了同樣的憤怒，稱之爲“野蠻、懦弱的恐怖行爲”，並痛惜，襲擊的目標是伊斯坦布爾的中心，“我們都因這裏對世界的開放而珍視它”。

The bombing is the third major terrorist incident in Turkey since July, and heightens concerns about security as Mr Erdogan confronts the spiralling effects of the civil war in neighbouring Syria as well as violence in the largely Kurdish south-east of Turkey.

此次爆炸事件是去年7月以來土耳其發生的第三起大型恐怖事件，進一步加深了對土耳其安全的擔憂，埃爾多安所面對的問題正在急劇增加，包括鄰國敘利亞內戰，以及以庫爾德人爲主的土耳其東南部發生的暴力活動。

The bombing raises questions about the capabilities of Turkey’s vast surveillance and intelligence networks in preventing attacks.

土耳其擁有龐大的監視和情報網絡以防止攻擊，此次爆炸對該網絡的能力提出質疑。

If it is confirmed that the bomber was a Syrian, the attacks could become a domestic political issue in Germany, where Syrians have entered the country in large numbers as refugees. Sexual assaults on women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, allegedly committed mainly by asylum seekers, have caused outrage in Germany and increased criticism of Ms Merkel’s refugee policy.

如果確認襲擊者爲敘利亞人，則襲擊事件可能在德國引起政治問題，因爲德國接受了大批敘利亞難民。跨年夜科隆發生的女性遭性侵事件，據稱作案者主要是申請避難者，此事在德國引起民憤，並增加了對默克爾難民政策的批評。

Yesterday’s attack could also complicate the chancellor’s efforts to secure a wide-ranging deal with Turkey on her top priority: limiting the inflow of refugees from the Middle East into Europe.

德國總理原本尋求與土耳其就她的首要任務達成廣泛協議，即限制難民從中東流入歐洲，昨日的襲擊可能會令她的努力複雜化。