Turkish bomber ‘aged between 12 and 14 years old’
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes ISIS is behind an ambush in his country that killed at least 53 celebrating people over the weekend, and is is confirmed that the killer was between just 12 and 14 years old.
But Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Monday that authorities were still trying to identify the bomber and didn’t know whether attacker was “a child or a grown-up”.
Hurriyet said the type of bomb used – stuffed with scraps of metal – was similar to explosives used in previous suicide bombings against pro-Kurdish gatherings blamed on ISIL in the border town of Suruc and at Ankara train station a year ago.
“If this was an attack by so-called Islamic State, it could be a response to the jihadists’ recent loss of territory in Syria”, writes BBC.
Meantime, there have also been ongoing attacks claimed by the PKK or linked to the militant group, as well as the coup attempt blamed on Gulen’s movement.
“The fundamental aim in the latest operation is to open a corridor for moderate rebels”, the official said.
In a sign of a key battle to come, Syrian rebel fighters have amassed on the Turkish side of the border in preparation for an offensive on the town of Jarablus, IS’s last major transit point on the Syrian side of the border. Ahead of the shelling, roughly 10 Turkish tanks were seen moving toward the border gate near Jarablus. It was not clear how long the tanks had been there.
Many Kurds believe Erdogan deliberately sought to draw Turks’ attention away from what he feared would be an unpopular move: joining forces with the West in the fight against Islamic State.
Meanwhile, Turkey said the Syrian border region must be “completely cleansed” from the ISIS.
Of the 54 victims, 29 were under the age of 18, the Haberturk newspaper reported.
According to AFP, there were at least 51 people hurt in the attack – with 69 in hospital and 17 in a critical condition.
The deadly attack also came amid struggles between the government and Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK, and as the country is still reeling from the aftermath of last month’s failed coup attempt, which the government has blamed on USA -based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers.
The remains of a suicide vest were found at the scene, the chief prosecutor’s office said.
“I can not recount what I saw”, he told Anadolu Agency.
“It could be that someone was loaded with explosives without even being aware of it and it may have been detonated remotely”, the official said, adding a search was underway for suspected militants who may have played a reconnaissance role.
The Turkish leader has repeatedly characterized the PKK as a greater threat to the Turkish state than Islamic State.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said the wedding party was for one of its members.
In November 2014, NBC News reported that while some children actually volunteer to be part of ISIS, others end up joining their fathers in the effort through no choice of their own.