Turkey releases Egyptians accused of attempting to join IS

Turkish authorities have released an Egyptian family of 12 that had been accused of attempting to join the Islamic State group in Syria, Egypt's foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The freed Egyptians have been referred to the immigration department to begin their deportation to Egypt, based on Egypt's request.

The Egyptian Consulate in Istanbul, which had been involved since the arrest, is currently supervising the deportation process to "guarantee swift implementation", according to the foreign ministry.

The family, which includes three children, was arrested in the southern Turkish city of Adana, as they attempted to cross the Turkish borders in order to join IS in Syria, the ministry stated on Monday.

Bassam Rady, the Egyptian Consul in Istanbul, told Aswat Masriya on Monday that the Consulate would assign lawyers to follow up on the investigation.

In an unrelated event, on Tuesday morning, a popular tourist area at the heart of Turkey's second city of Istanbul was hit by a deadly blast that left at least 10 people dead and 15 injured.

Following the attack, which is though to have been carried out by a suicide bomber with links to Syria, a group of 15 Syrians and a Turkish citizen were reportedly arrested by Ankara's police force.

Egypt's foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the attack "in the strongest terms", expressing condolences to the Turkish people and the families of victims from other countries, and wishing a speedy recovery for the injured.

"[The ministry] reiterated Egypt's firm position that calls on the international community to unite in the face of this abominable phenomenon, which aims to undermine the stability and integrity of peoples around the world, without discriminating on the basis of race or religion," the statement read.