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Turkey releases bombing suspect details as Twitter temporarily shut down Turkey releases bombing suspect details as Twitter temporarily shut down
(35 minutes later)
Turkish officials have released the identity of the main suspect in a suicide bombing on a cultural centre as the country temporarily blocked Twitter to stop images of the blast circulating online. Turkish officials have released the identity of their main suspect in a suicide bombing on a cultural centre as the country temporarily blocked Twitter to stop images of the blast circulating online.
Meanwhile two police officers have been found dead in a small town in the south-east of the country. Kurdish militants claimed responsibility, saying the attack was in retaliation to what they claim is police collaboration with Islamic State. Meanwhile two police officers were found dead in a small town in the south-east of the country. Kurdish militants claimed responsibility, saying the attack was in retaliation to what they claim is police collaboration with Islamic State.
DNA evidence suggests that a 20-year-old Turkish student whose ID card was found at the scene carried out the bombing, officials said. Turkish media named the suspect as Seyh Abdurrahman Alagöz.. DNA evidence suggests that a 20-year-old Turkish Kurd whose ID card was found at the scene carried out the bombing, officials said. Turkish media named the suspect as Seyh Abdurrahman Alagöz..
According to Turkish media reports, Alagöz was recruited by Islamic State in his native city of Adıyaman more than six months ago. Hundreds of young men from Adıyaman are said to have joined jihadi groups in Syria, and local residents, often desperate parents, have repeatedly accused the Turkish government of turning a blind eye to the threat.According to Turkish media reports, Alagöz was recruited by Islamic State in his native city of Adıyaman more than six months ago. Hundreds of young men from Adıyaman are said to have joined jihadi groups in Syria, and local residents, often desperate parents, have repeatedly accused the Turkish government of turning a blind eye to the threat.
At least 32 people died in the explosion in Suruç, near the Syrian border. The bomb hit a cultural centre in the small, predominantly Kurdish town, where hundreds of members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations had gathered for a press briefing before a visit to the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Kobani to help with the reconstruction of the destroyed town. Turkey’s Nato allies have repeatedly urged it to tighten security along the 560-mile border with Syria.
Thousands of foreign fighters, many of them Turkish nationals, have crossed the Turkish-Syrian border to join Isis and other jihadi groups over the past few years, fuelling accusations from the opposition that the government is looking the other way in the hope of seeing the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, toppled. Turkey’s Nato allies have repeatedly urged it to tighten security along the 560-mile border with Syria. At least 32 people died in the explosion in Suruç. The bomb hit a cultural centre in the small, predominantly Kurdish town, where hundreds of members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations had gathered for a press briefing before a visit to the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Kobani to help with the reconstruction of the destroyed town.
The bomb on Monday also drew harsh criticism for the Justice and Development party’s (AKP) Syria policies as a whole. Two lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP) submitted separate parliamentary motions on Wednesday naming a 20-year-old woman as a suspect, and asking why police had released her from custody last month.
Haluk Koç, the deputy chair of the main opposition Republican People’s party (CHP), said at a press conference on Tuesday: “We have constantly noted the failures in Turkey’s foreign policy choices in the face of the civil war in Syria. Turkey has looked on [as it has become a] new Peshawar as radical groups have been encouraged and are running wild. Now, we are passing through days which prove the saying ‘sow the wind and reap the whirlwind’ correct.” Many of Turkey’s Kurds and opposition supporters suspect the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the ruling AK party of covertly backing Isis against Kurdish fighters in Syria, something the government has repeatedly denied.
The country’s acting prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, dismissed concerns of a security vacuum and rejected accusations of ignoring the Isis threat. ”
He told a press conference in Şanlıurfa province: “Turkey and AKP governments have never had any direct or indirect links with any terrorist group and have never showed tolerance to any terrorist group.” Protests erupted in several Istanbul districts and other Turkish cities on Tuesday night as people took to the streets to condemn the government’s stance on Syria and its perceived inaction concerning Isis activity inside Turkey.
Protests erupted in several Istanbul districts and other Turkish cities on Tuesday night as people took to the streets to condemn the government’s stance on Syria and its perceived inaction concerning Isis activity inside Turkey. “Murderer Islamic State, collaborators Erdoğan and AKP,” protesters chanted in the Asian Istanbul district of Kadıköy before police dispersed them using teargas and water cannon. Two police officers were wounded, reportedly by gunfire, as protests turned violent in the city of Mersin. At least 11 people were detained by police. “Murderer Islamic State, collaborators Erdoğan and AKP,” protesters chanted in the Asian Istanbul district of Kadıköy before police dispersed them using teargas and water cannon. Two police officers were wounded, reportedly by gunfire, as protests turned violent in the city of Mersin. At least 11 people were detained by police.
Two police officers were found dead, after being shot in the head, in a house in Ceylanpınar, a small town on the border with Syria, about 100 miles (160km) away from Suruç. It was not immediately clear if the killings were related to the wider unrest in the region, according to sources cited by Reuters.
The Twitter block is expected to be lifted soon. According to Turkish media, the ban was issued for 106 Twitter posts that contained images of the aftermath of the bombing, 53 news portal websites and one YouTube video. Twitter had already removed about 50 of the URLs and said the remaining posts would also be withdrawn. State-run news agency Anadolu said Twitter was briefly blocked and that the site was asked to remove 107 URLs with images of the aftermath of Monday’s bombing. Twitter had already removed about 50 of the URLs before the block.
A Turkish government official told the AP access to Twitter was restored after the company “removed malicious content, including hate speech, in line with the court order.”