ISIS Responsible for Killing Nearly 100 in Suicide Bombing Massacre, Turkish PM Claims

By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter Monday, October 12, 2015

People carry an injured man after an explosion during a peace march in Ankara, Turkey, on October 10, 2015.

Mourners carry the coffin of Abdullah Erol, a victim of Saturday's bomb blasts in Ankara, during a funeral ceremony in the Kurdish dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, October 12, 2015. Abdullah Erol was a candidate of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party for the November 1 parliamentary election.

Map locating site of explosions in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, where at least 95 people were killed when two suspected suicide bombers struck on Saturday.

Police in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on October 11, 2015, use tear gas and water cannon to disperse people marching to protest the double suicide bombing in Ankara that killed up to 128 people. Turkey is targeting Islamic State in investigations of a double suicide bombing in Ankara that killed up to 128 people, officials said on Sunday, while opponents of President Tayyip Erdogan blamed him for the worst such attack in Turkish history. Government officials made clear that despite alarm over the attack on a rally of pro-Kurdish activists and civic groups, there would be no postponement of November polls Erdogan hopes can restore an overall majority for the AK Party he founded.

A pair of shoes, belonging to a street vendor who was selling Turkish traditional bagel or simit, is placed at the bombing scene during a commemoration for the victims of Saturday's bomb blasts, in Ankara, Turkey, October 12, 2015. Islamic State is the focus of investigations into a twin suicide bombing that killed at least 97 people in the Turkish capital Ankara and investigators are close to identifying one of the suspects, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday. Speaking on Turkish broadcaster NTV in a live interview, Davutoglu said Saturday's attack was an attempt to influence the outcome of a parliamentary election on Nov. 1 and that necessary steps would be taken if security failures were found to have contributed to the bombing. The sign on the left reads, 'Peace now immediately, despite the war'.

View Photos

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has accused the Islamic State terror group of carrying out the suicide bombing in Ankara on Saturday that killed 97 people. Davutoglu vowed, however, that he will not let Turkey be torn apart like Syria.

"These attacks will not turn Turkey into a Syria," Davutoglu said on Monday, according to BBC News.

"We investigate Daesh (IS) as our No. 1 priority. There [has] been good progress toward identifying a name. That name points to an organization."

Police say that two male suicide bombers carried out the attack on Saturday during a peace rally at the Turkish capital, plunging the entire country into mourning.

CNN reported that the explosions shook high-rise office buildings and left bodies scattered across the ground.

The rally was calling for an end to violence between Turkish government forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a conflict that has prompted Turkey to send forces into Iraq to combat what it says is a terror group.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has fought with the Turkish state for over 30 years in what it says is a battle for independence.

A large number of the victims of Saturday's bombing were pro-Kurdish HDP party activists.

Turkish air strikes over the weekend against the PKK killed close to 50 members of the group, the semi-official Turkish news agency, Anadolu, reported.

While no group has yet taken responsibility for the bombings, local media have pointed to evidence that suggests IS-linked jihadists, involved in the bombing of the border town of Suruc in July, could also have played a part in the Ankara attack.

"This is an attack on the whole of Turkey. This is an attack directed at our democracy and at our people as a whole," Davutoglu added.

The Turkish PM also suggested that the bombing was an attempt to disrupt the country three weeks away from its elections.

"There is also an attempt to cast shadow on the elections. One should not use this for small political calculations. Statements should not be made referring to the elections at this time," he said.

President Tayyip Erdogan vowed that the elections will continue, though opponent groups blame him for stirring a nationalist campaign against the Kurdish militants, and provoking such an attack.

Reuters says that while Turkey is vulnerable to attacks by IS, it is not yet proven whether the terror group really is responsible for the Ankara bombings. It noted that IS often boasts about its significant attacks through social media, yet has made no reference to this, or previous attacks, on Turkey thus far.

One senior Turkish official, who wasn't named, said that the country will be stepping up its security with the approaching election on Nov. 1.

"Because of the rising risks, the security at election rallies, which is already being increased, will be raised further. The election will be held in a secure way," the official said.