Turkey’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies have expressed concern about control of its border with Syria which in parts runs directly parallel with territory controlled by Islamic State. “It was not possible to track him during his time there”, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.
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Thirty-two people were killed and more than 100 wounded on Monday when a blast ripped through a gathering of young socialist activists preparing to take aid over the border into the flashpoint Syrian town of Kobane.
Kobani was the site of one of the biggest battles against ISIL a year ago and was secured by Syrian Kurdish fighters last month after repeated assaults.
Turkish police detained at least 11 people overnight as anti-government protests following the attack.
Private Turkish Dogan News Agency (DHA) earlier said the blast occurred at a cultural center while a political group was giving a statement to the press on Kobani’s reconstruction.
Turkish authorities are also reportedly investigating if a female corpse found after the Suruc bombing which could not be identified might be a second suicide bomber.
Turkish officials have blamed the Islamic State extremist group for the Suruc bombing, amid widespread condemnation of Ankara’s limited efforts to dislodge Islamist militants as they move in on the country’s porous border with Syria.
Analysts say a recent crackdown by Turkish authorities on the Islamic State group, which resulted in dozens of arrests, may have been the motive behind the attack.
“Among them, especially those who have been affected by the war in Syria, there is a deeply felt belief that [Erdogan’s party] the AKP and Isis [IS] are synonymous and that they cooperated with one another”, he said.
He said the cabinet would discuss Wednesday, July 22, an “action plan” on border security and the government would then take the “necessary measures”.
In Istanbul, protesters went into the streets on Monday with some blaming the government and chanting slogans against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The death toll could rise.
A government official said Turkey had asked Twitter to remove 107 URLs with images of the bombing’s aftermath.
Just before the attack, they had been photographed seated at tables enjoying breakfast and tea.
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The opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), whose base support is Kurdish, has called for supporters to converge in Istanbul for a mass rally on Saturday.
