ISTANBUL // ISIL is the focus of investigations into a twin suicide bombing that killed at least 97 people in Ankara, prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday.
Investigators were close to identifying one of the suspects of Saturday’s attack, Mr Davutoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.
He said the attack was an attempt to influence the outcome of a parliamentary election on November 1, and stressed that necessary steps would be taken if security failures were found to have contributed to the bombing.
“It was definitely a suicide bombing. DNA tests are being conducted ... We’re close to a name, which points to one group,” he said.
Two senior security sources said on Sunday that initial signs suggested ISIL 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 extremist group.
The two explosions happened seconds apart on Saturday as hundreds gathered for a march organised by pro-Kurdish activists and civic groups to protest over a conflict between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants in the south-east.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said the death toll is higher, at 128. Mr Davutoglu’s office has said 97 people were killed.
* Reuters
