Four terror groups may be behind Ankara attack: Turkish PM

ANKARA

PM Davutoğlu speaks at an Ankara press conference after the meeting. AA photo

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu declared a three-day national mourning after the Oct. 10 twin bomb attack on a peace rally in Ankara, also singling out four outlawed organizations as possible suspects of the country’s largest terror tragedy ever. 

“The organizations that possess such a capacity are obvious,” the Prime Minister said during a press meeting in Ankara in the evening. 

The prime minister named these organizations as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), along with two “leftist” organizations, namely, the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) and the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP).

Although the identity of the culprits remains unknown, Davutoğlu said there are "very strong signs" the Ankara blasts were carried out by two suicide bombers.

The prime minister said he wants to consult two parties, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on the issue, but he ruled out any contacts with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) after the Kurdish-issue focused party’s co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş’s statement that slammed the government for the attack. 

"Demirtaş's conscience and mind were handcuffed. I am here if anyone asks for an account," the prime minister said. 

"This attack has targeted not a single group, citizens who joined the rally or a political community but targeted our people as a whole," Davutoğlu said.

"While we are heading toward elections [on Nov. 1]... such an attack has directly taken aim at democracy and democratic rights and freedoms," he added.

The MHP has rejected the PM's offer but Davutoğlu and CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu are expected to meet on Oct. 11. 

"Today is the day to be in solidarity shoulder-to-shoulder."

Davutoğlu said the necessary would be done against whoever carried out "this treacherous massacre," branding the perpetrators "enemies of humanity."   

"A terrorist is a terrorist. Whoever carried out an act of terror has committed a crime against humanity," he said.     

"We are encountering one of the most painful acts of terrorism in our republic's history," he added.  

Asked whether there had been a security lapse, Davutoğlu said two suicide bombers had been caught in Istanbul and in Ankara ahead of the latest attack. He said necessary measures would be taken if any negligence had occurred. The prime minister said two potential suicide bomber were caught in Ankara and Istanbul recently. 

The government says it has imposed a temporary news blackout following the two blasts.

A government spokesman said the blackout covered images showing the moment of the blast, gruesome or bloody images or "images that create a feeling of panic."

He warned media organizations they could face a "full blackout" if they did not comply.