Ten people were killed and 15 wounded in a suspected terrorist attack on Tuesday in the main tourist hub of Turkey’s largest city Istanbul, officials said.

Ten people were killed and 15 wounded in a suspected terrorist attack on Tuesday in the main tourist hub of Turkey's largest city Istanbul, officials said.

A powerful blast rocked the Sultanahmet neighborhood which is home to Istanbul's biggest concentration of monuments and is visited by tens of thousands of tourists every day.

Turkey is on edge after a series of deadly attacks blamed on the Takfiri group, ISIL (so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Levant) including a double suicide bombing in the capital Ankara in October that left 103 people dead.

"Terrorist links are suspected," a Turkish official told AFP of Tuesday's blast, asking not to be named.

According to Turkish media outlets, the suicide bomber is the Syrian Nabil al-Fadli, 28.

Ambulances and police were dispatched to Sultanahmet, the city's main tourist hub, which is home to world-famous monuments including the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.

"Investigations into the cause of the explosion, the type of explosion and perpetrator or perpetrators are under way," the Istanbul governor's office said in a statement quoted by the Dogan news agency.

It said 10 people were killed and 15 wounded.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu convened an emergency security meeting of key ministers and officials after the attack.

Those taking part in the meeting include the powerful Interior Minister Efkan Ala and spy chief Hakan Fidan, the Anatolia news agency said.