15 detained in connection to Bursa suicide attack­

ANKARA/BURSA

AA photo

A total of 15 suspects have been detained in four different Turkish provinces in relation to the suicide bomb attack that struck the Marmara province of Bursa on April 28. A female suicide bomber detonated herself at around 5:25 p.m. near Ulu Cami, a mosque at the center of the province, on April 27, leaving 13 people wounded. 

“The investigation into the identity of the suicide bomber is ongoing. We are almost certain on the terror group that she has relations with, but I won’t reveal it until it’s certain,” Interior Minister Efkan Ala told journalists in Bursa on April 28, while adding that more detentions may follow in the coming days. 

“We won’t share the details yet. Turkey is engaged in a serious struggle with terrorism and alliances of terrorists,” Ala said. 

The five provinces where detentions were made by police include Bursa, Istanbul, the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, and the western province of Afyonkarahisar.

Meanwhile, officials were unable to identify the suicide bomber from her fingerprints and will conduct a DNA test, as the investigation into the attack was ongoing.

The suicide bomber arrived in Bursa from Şanlıurfa via bus on April 24 with a ticket that she had bought under the fake name “Sultan” and stayed with the detained suspects, reported Anadolu Agency.

The suicide bomber was seen in video footage recorded by a security camera at the terminal. 

She traveled to the scene of the attack via taxi, while in a location close to Bursa she obtained the bomb, which was thought to have been made of ammonium nitrate, according to reports.  

The woman may have panicked after seeing police officers and detonated the bomb, the officials told Anadolu Agency.

The attack drew condemnations from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), as well as opposition parties. 

Erdoğan stressed the significance of determination in the struggle against terrorism, which “attacks Turkey’s peace,” while he wished good health for the wounded, after he was informed by Ala during his visit to Zagreb on April 27.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also released a statement on the attack, saying efforts to identify the bomber were ongoing.

“Our security forces are continuing their efforts to determine the identity of the attacker. I’ve consulted our interior minister and Bursa governor. Hopefully the identity of the attacker will be established and the efforts will continue until the powers and the network behind her are revealed,” said Davutoğlu on April 27, while adding that he expressed his admiration of the public’s determined attitude. 

The head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, condemned the “treacherous” attack in Bursa in a post on his Twitter account on April 27. 

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) also condemned the attack from the party’s Twitter account. 

Turkey has faced a series of suicide bomb attack organized by both the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in recent months.

Two suicide bombers detonated themselves on 10:04 a.m. on Oct. 10, 2015, in front of Ankara’s main train station, where thousands of people had gathered for a peace rally a few weeks before the snap election on Nov. 1, 2015. This was the largest terror attack in Turkey’s history. ISIL hit Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet Square on Jan. 12, while the city’s touristic İstiklal Avenue was struck on March 19.