Turkish authorities said
Islamic State was the prime suspect in suicide bombings that killed more than 100 people in Ankara, as hundreds of people took to the streets in different cities across the country to protest against the attacks and vent their anger at the government, which many hold responsible for the killings.
Speaking on the Turkish broadcaster NTV on Monday, Ahmet Davutoğlu said the attack was an attempt to influence the country’s general election, scheduled to take place on 1 November, and that any “isolated” security shortcomings would be investigated.
“We are focusing on [Isis] in our investigations. We are zooming in on one name that points to a certain criminal organisation,” Davutoğlu said. “But one cannot just say that we should round up an entire sleeper cell and throw them [in jail]. We must act according to the law.”
He also said the government had not yet ruled out links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) and the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).
Davutoğlu also confirmed that the explosions were carried out by suicide bombers, and that DNA tests are being conducted on their bodies.
The pro-Kurdish parliamentary opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which says it was the target of the bombings, said at least 128 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in Saturday’s attack on a peace rally calling for an end to escalating violence between the Turkish government and the PKK. The government has put the death toll at 97.
The attack is the deadliest in the country’s recent history and was labelled a terrorist act by the government, which declared three days of national mourning.
Opponents of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, blame him for the attack, accusing the state at best of intelligence failings and at worst of complicity by stirring up nationalist anti-Kurdish sentiment.
Security experts have said the Ankara bombings bear similarities to
an attack in July near the town of Suruç, bordering Syria, that the Turkish government has also blamed on Isis. The Hürriyet newspaper said the type of device and explosives used in Ankara were the same as in the Suruç attack. Security forces are reportedly investigating the possible involvement of the older brother of the Suruç suicide bomber, Sheikh Abdurrahman Alagöz, in the Ankara attack.
Officials said nine more suspected Isis militants have been detained in raids in the southern cities of Adana and Kilis. About 45 suspected Isis militants have now been arrested since Saturday, in sweeps of four cities. It was not clear, however, if any of those held were linked to the peace rally bombings.
Turkey agreed recently to more actively support the US-led battle against Isis,
opening its bases to US aircraft launching airstrikes on the group in Syria and carrying out a limited number of strikes on the group itself.
Hours after the attack, Kurdish rebels battling Turkish security forces went ahead with their plans to declare a unilateral ceasefire in an attempt to reduce tensions before the election. However, the Turkish government opted to snub the call for calm, and launched several airstrikes against PKK positions over the weekend, during which 49 militants were killed, according to the Turkish military.
On Sunday, two soldiers were killed in an operation against the outlawed Kurdish group. While airstrikes continued unabated through Monday, the PKK said on Monday that it would keep the announced ceasefire in memory of those killed during the bomb attack in Ankara. According to the Firat news agency, a senior PKK commander, Murat Karayilan, has ordered all militants to abandon checkpoints and roadblocks in
Turkey and withdraw to their bases.
The Ankara attacks brought to the fore divisions between supporters of Erdoğan and his Justice and Development party, and supporters of the opposition movements that have gained significant ground in recent elections, such as the HDP, whose June election victory was one main reason that the AKP lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since coming to power in 2002.
The HDP accused the AKP government of the flawed and dangerous strategy of “relying on radical proxies” in the region, and of deeply polarising policies at home, all of which led to the devastating attacks in Ankara, according to a statement published by the party on Monday.
Hundreds of people chanting anti-government slogans marched towards a mosque in an Istanbul suburb on Monday for the funeral of several of the victims.
The funerals were attended by Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the HDP, which says it was the target of the bombings and has blamed Erdoğan and the government.
Riot police with water cannon and armoured vehicles stood by as the crowd, some chanting “thief, murderer, Erdoğan” and waving HDP flags, moved towards the mosque in the working-class Ümraniye neighbourhood of Istanbul.
Several labour unions also called protests. Hundreds of people, many wearing doctors’ uniforms and carrying Turkish Medical Association banners, gathered by the main train station in Ankara where the explosions happened to lay red carnations but were blocked by riot police, a witness told Reuters. Lawyers at a Istanbul courthouse in Istanbul chanted “murderer Erdoğan will give account” as colleagues applauded.
On Sunday,
demonstrators and mourners in Ankara directly blamed the government for failing to protect the rally, accusing it of instigating chaos to secure a majority in the election.
Reuters contributed to this report
Turkey says Islamic State is main suspect in Ankara bombings | World news | The Guardian
