Russian woman identified as Istanbul suicide bomber

A Russian woman has been identified as the suicide bomber in Tuesday's blast at a police station in Istanbul which killed a police officer and injured another, media reported Thursday.

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala told reporters that the woman has been identified, but refrained from naming her.

"We don't think it is right to make a detailed statement at this stage in terms of safety of the investigation," Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

"Foreign phone numbers" were found in the cell phone of the assailant, named Diana Ramazova, who spoke Russian with a taxi driver before the attack, Daily News said, adding that the clues reportedly led police to believe that the woman might be a Chechen.

On Tuesday, the female attacker entered a guardroom of the tourism police headquarters at Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul, telling the police in English that she lost her wallet.

A few seconds later, she blew herself up when guards tried to prevent her from entering the building, killing herself and a policeman, and injuring another.