One Ankara bomber identified: Turkish PM

ISTANBUL

Turkish authorities have confirmed the identity of one of two suicide bombers who blew themselves up outside Ankara’s main train station on Oct. 10, killing 102 people, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has stated.

“A series of DNA tests have been carried out to identify the suicide bombers and one of them has been identified,” Davutoğlu said in an interview on Turkey’s A Haber on Oct. 19, without revealing a name or gender.

He said investigations into the second bomber were continuing, while 15 people have been detained in connection to the attacks, four of whom had been remanded in custody. 

Investigators are also examining “links” between the Ankara and Suruç blasts, Davutoğlu said, referring to the July 20 bombing that killed 34 people in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir. The Suruç attack also targeted leftist and pro-Kurdish activists and was blamed on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The authorities are investigating links to ISIL, to those who may have infiltrated into ISIL, and “groups or intelligence organizations” that might act with ISIL, the prime minister said.

On Oct. 18, a court in Ankara ordered the arrest of four of the 15 detainees related to the twin bombings that hit the Turkish capital on Oct. 10, killing 102 people and injuring hundreds at a peace rally.

AKP votes in ‘rise to 44 percent’ after Ankara bombing

Meanwhile, Davutoğlu also said his Justice and Development Party (AKP) has seen an “increase trend” in opinion polls it has conducted since the Ankara attacks.

“An increase trend has continued to the 44 percent band since the attack. Our aim is to secure a result that will bring the AK Party to single-party rule,” he said. 

The prime minister also defended the people of the Central Anatolian city of Konya after “unfair criticism” following the controversial whistling from sections of the crowd during the interrupted minute’s silence for victims of the Ankara bombing before a recent Turkish national football team match. 

“[A group] whistled in order to silence those shouting slogans during the minute’s silence,” Davutoğlu said.