Nine on the run in ISIL hunt, explosives seized

ANKARA

Ankara’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has been conducting the investigation into the twin bombings in the capital on Oct. 10, has said that nine supects possibly linked to the attack and who are alleged to be members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), were on the run due to the media outlet’s news about the potential bombers, while tons of explosives have been seized in raids conducted in the southeastern province of Gaziantep. 

In a written statement, Ankara’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Oct. 19,  that the vehicle used for the Ankara bombing, 2,500 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, which is used in the making of explosives, 10 suicide bomber vests, a sewing machine used in the sewing of the vests, a variety of materials used to make explosives, hand grenades, rifles, bullets and many detonators were seized in raids conducted on houses, work places and depots which were determined to have been used as cell houses in Gaziantep. 

It also added nine people fled after media outlets announced the initials of some of the suspects of the Ankara bombing, while the police were working on making the necessary detainments. 

One of the suicide bombers identified

The statement said that one of the identities of the Ankara suicide bombers was determined to be Yunus Emre Alagöz, who is the brother of ISIL member Şeyh Abdurrahman Alagöz, who was the perpetrator in the Suruç suicide bomb attack which killed 33 members of a socialist youth group and wounded more than 100 on July 20.

“The other suicide bomber was confirmed by a photo image and a series of tests are being carried out to identify him or her,” the statement said, adding the second bomber was determined to have come from one of Turkey’s southern neighbors in order to conduct the attack.

Alagöz’s identity was determined via a DNA test, while the second bomber’s DNA did not match any of the samples collected, daily Hürriyet reported an official from the public prosecutor’s office as saying. 

The statement said procedural acts against 20 suspects had been initiated and 11 of them had been detained. Of these 11 suspects, four were released by the prosecutor’s office, four were arrested and the court decided to release three others on probation. 

“The investigation into the terror organization that conducted the incident [the Ankara bombing] and other terror organizations that are thought to be related to the realization of the incident is continuing,” the statement read. detained. Of these 11 suspects, four were released by the prosecutor’s office, four were arrested and the court decided to release three others on probation. 

The vehicle used for the Ankara bombing, 2,500 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, which is used in the making of explosives, 10 suicide bomber vests, a sewing machine used in the sewing of the vests, a variety of materials used to make explosives, hand grenades, rifles, bullets and many detonators were seized in raids conducted on houses, work places and depots which were determined to have been used as cell houses in Turkey’s southeastern province of Gaziantep. 

The statement also added nine people fled after media outlets announced the initials of some of the suspects of the Ankara bombing, while the police were working on making the necessary detainments. 

The Ankara 6th Criminal Court of Peace lifted a five-day media ban on the deadly Oct. 10 Ankara bombing as of Oct. 19, upon a request from the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office.

“The investigation into the terror organization that conducted the incident [the Ankara bombing] and other terror organizations that are thought to be related to the realization of the incident is continuing,” the statement read.