Turkey’s PM says a suspect has been identified in the bombing, believed to be an Isis suicide attack, which killed 32 people in Suruç, near Syria

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Turkish authorities have identified a suspect in the apparent suicide bombing that killed 32 people in Suruç near the Syrian border, the prime minister has said.

Ahmet Davutoğlu said the authorities were investigating the international and domestic connections of a specific person they believe was a suicide bomber tied to Islamic State (Isis). He did not elaborate on the identity of the suspect.



Neither Isis nor any other group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Turkish officials believe the attack was in retaliation for Turkey’s recent steps against Isis militants.

The death toll rose from 31 to 32 on Tuesday, with 29 of the injured still in hospital.

“What’s necessary will be done against whomever is responsible for [the attack],” Davutoğlu said. “Nobody should ever doubt this. This is an attack that targeted Turkey.”

A cabinet meeting on Wednesday will consider extra security measures on the Syrian border.

The blast hit a cultural centre in the small town, where members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations had gathered for a press conference before a visit to the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Kobani to help with its reconstruction.



Photographs circulated on social media showed bodies strewn in the garden of the cultural centre. The youth organisation published a photograph just before the blast showing its members gathered at a table in the garden.

Twenty-five coffins were laid out in the courtyard of a mosque in the south-eastern city of Gaziantep on Tuesday following autopsies.

The coffins were wrapped in red shrouds with the name of each victim simply written in black block capitals on a white piece of paper fastened to each coffin.

The coffins were laid out in a line and relatives of the young victims rested their heads on the tops of the coffins in a final embrace, wailing in grief. One woman sobbed violently as she grasped the coffin of her son with her hands. Others simply buried their faces into the top of the coffins.

Hundreds of mourners shouted anti-Isis slogans, and slogans critical of the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Following the autopsy and ceremony, the bodies were taken for burial in the hometowns of the victims, who came from across Turkey, including the city of Van in the east, Kayseri in central Turkey, Istanbul and Suruç itself.

Suruç is across the border from Kobani, the town that witnessed the defeat of Isis militants at the hands of Kurdish fighters last year.



Turkish Kurds have long been angry at what they perceive as Turkey’s failure to act against Isis inside the country and on Turkey’s borders, with many believing that Ankara directly supports the Islamist militants against Kurdish fighters.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Aftermath of the explosion in Suruç

Davutoğlu vehemently denied suggestions that Turkey and the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party had encouraged Isis.

“Turkey and AK party governments have never had any direct or indirect connection with any terrorist organisation and never tolerated any terrorist group,” he said.

Authorities have carried out a series of raids in recent weeks to arrest Islamic State suspects. They have also blocked more than half a dozen Islamist news websites.

Monday’s bombing was the deadliest such attack on Turkish soil since twin bombs killed at least 50 people in the border town of Reyhanlı in 2013.

