Islamic State Is Prime Suspect in Turkey Bombing: PM Davutoglu

No group has claimed responsibility for the Ankara bombing and, since IS has in the past opportunistically claimed attacks in which it played no part, a few sceptics see the organisation as a convenient scapegoat for the government.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, however, rejected accusations by opponents that the government was to blame for the almost simultaneous attacks Saturday, calling them “dangerous” and “dastardly”.

Thousands of people gathered near the scene of the attack at Ankara’s main railway station, many accusing Erdogan of stirring nationalist sentiment by his pursuit of a military campaign against Kurdish militants, a charge Ankara vehemently rejects.

Two senior security sources told Reuters on Sunday that initial signs suggested Islamic State was behind the attack, and that it bore striking similarity to a July suicide bombing in Suruc near the Syrian border, also blamed on the radical Islamists. However, he confirmed that the Islamic State group was the “No. 1 priority” of the investigation.

There were no claims of responsibility for the attack, which comes as external threats mount for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Turkey with increased fighting across its border with Syria and incursions by Russian warplanes on its air space over the last week. In the last election in June, a Kurdish party gained support from voters, taking away the ruling party’s majority in Parliament – and Erdogan wants that majority back.

But Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, exposing a mosaic of domestic political perils, said Islamic State, Kurdish or far-leftist militants could have carried out the bombing.

The government raised the death toll in the weekend attack to 97, including one Palestinian.

Hurriyet newspaper said the type of device and explosives used in Ankara were the same as those used in the Suruc attack.

Turkish newspapers reported that authorities have obtained DNA samples from families of at least 16 people believed to be Islamic State insurgents to compare with those of the suspected bombers. Doctors say dozens are in serious condition, many with burns.

Two suicide bombers are suspected of being behind the biggest ever terrorist attack in Turkey’s history.

Labour unions which helped organise the rally hit by the bombs called a two-day strike for October 12-13, although such calls have not always been widely followed in the past.

Family members of a victim of Saturday’s bomb blasts mourn during a funeral ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, yesterday.

“There was general intelligence concerning a team called the “immortals” within Daesh (IS) making preparations, concerning preparations by the PKK”, Davutoglu said.

He argued that the attack was an attempt to influence the outcome of a parliamentary election on November 1.

Turkish authorities say police have detained four suspected Islamic State militants in a raid in the southern city of Adana. The detentions raised the number of suspected IS militants taken into custody in four cities since Saturday to around 40.

Turkey agreed recently to more actively support the U.S.-led battle against the Islamic State group, opening its bases to US aircraft launching air strikes on the extremist group in Syria and carrying out a limited number of strikes on the group itself. It was not clear where the arrests, announced Monday, were linked to the suicide bombings at a rally promoting peace with the Kurdish rebels.