Armory blast '99 percent sabotage,' Turkish opposition leader claims
ISTANBUL
Soldiers search near the site of an explosion at an ammunition store in Afyonkarahisar in western Turkey which killed 25 soldiers. AP photo
The cause of an explosion at a munitions depot which killed 25 soldiers on Sept. 5 in the western province of Afyonkarahisar was "99 percent" sure to be sabotage, the leader of Turkey's main opposition party has said.Republican People's Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu told Talat Atilla of daily Güneş that he had learned the information after "talking to commanders" in the wake of the blast.
“The military says the blast was 99 percent caused by sabotage," Kılıçdaroğlu said, adding that he talked to high-ranking officers from the Armed Forces as well, who – according to Kılıçdaroğlu – said there were "strong indications pointing at sabotage" and that there was "more than one piece of evidence" indicating foul play.
The sabotage might have been carried out by detonating an explosive device with a mobile phone, the opposition leader said.
"One of the possibilities [that may have caused the explosion] was a cellular phone. The commanders spoke of a device that triggered explosives when it received calls from the outside," Kılıçdaroğlu said.