TURKEY-EXPLOSION/COMMEMORATIONS Turks in Ankara commemorate victims of twin bombs attacks

Record ID: 135221

  • Title: TURKEY-EXPLOSION/COMMEMORATIONS Turks in Ankara commemorate victims of twin bombs attacks
  • Date: 12th October 2015
  • Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (OCTOBER 12, 2015) (REUTERS) CROWDS GATHERED NEAR TRAIN STATION RED CARNATIONS ON THE GROUND, PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PLACING RED CARNATIONS AT MAKESHIFT MEMORIAL SITE POSTER SHOWING PORTRAIT OF VICTIM OF BLAST, NAMED 'UYGAR COSKUN' MEMORIAL PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY (METU) APPLAUDING AND CHANTING (Turkish): "M
  • Embargoed: 27th October 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABUVUJ48RTWKX9TX5YJ67UXDI0
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A commemoration, attended by families and relatives of victims, was held in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday (October 12) in remembrance of all those killed in twin suicide bombings.
    Crowds gathered by the main train station in Ankara, where the explosions happened on Saturday (October 10) to lay red carnations by a makeshift memorial that has been set up at the site.
    Turkey's government said on Monday Islamic State was the prime suspect for the bombings that killed at least 97 people, but opponents vented anger at President Tayyip Erdogan at funerals, universities and courthouses.
    Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Saturday's attack, the worst of its kind on Turkish soil, was intended to influence the outcome of November polls Erdogan hopes will restore a majority the ruling AK party lost in June. Officials say there is no question of postponing the vote.
    Two bombs struck seconds apart, targeting a rally of pro-Kurdish activists and civic groups near Ankara's main train station.
    Turkey is vulnerable to infiltration by Islamic State, which holds swathes of Syrian land abutting Turkey where some two million refugees live. But there has been no word from the group - usually swift to publicly claim responsibility for any attack it conducts - over the Ankara bombing or two very similar incidents earlier this year.
    Opponents of Erdogan, who has led the country over 13 years, blame him for the attack, accusing the state at best of intelligence failings and at worst of complicity by stirring up nationalist, anti-Kurdish sentiment.
    The government, facing a growing Kurdish conflict at home and the spillover of war in Syria, vehemently denies such accusations.
    Several labour unions called protests in Turkey. Hundreds of people, many wearing doctors' uniforms and carrying Turkish Medical Association banners, gathered by the train station in Ankara to lay red carnations but were said to have been blocked by riot police, a Reuters witness said.
    Students rallied outside the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, some chanting "Martyrs of the revolution are immortal", and carrying banners reading: "We strike for peace!"
    Nilra Zoruglu, a university student, said she wanted for the government to identify those responsible for Saturday's deadly attack.
    "We are very saddened that the perpetrators of this attack are still unknown, there hasn't been any concrete statement on this. Because this is a very serious attack, this is one of the biggest terrorist attacks in Turkish history. And thus far none of the Turkish leaders have made a reasonable statement on this," Zoruglu said.
    The father of three men wounded in the blasts said one of his sons, Abdulselam, described seeing one of the bombers carrying a bag on his back and one in his hand.
    "This guy (suspected bomber) had two bags, one on his back and one in his hand. He blended within the crowd and my boy (Abdulselam) felt something was wrong. He told me that it was as if somebody whispered to me that 'this guy is a suicide bomber." the father, Mehmet Ali Altun, told Reuters outside the hospital where his sons were being treated. The son, who had been questioned by police, declined to speak to media.
    Ali Altun said his son called out "stop" suspecting an attacker.
    "He (suspected bomber) panicked, my son was also panicked and acted without thinking, because he had the opportunity to get him arrested. My son was also nervous," he added, showing a picture of Abdulselam standing with his brothers Ahmet and Cafer.
    The Ankara attack has revived memories of a similar bombing of a pro-Kurdish rally in the south-eastern town of Diyarbakir and another in Suruc in July that killed at least 30 and was also attributed to Islamic State. There was no claim of responsibility and the pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) says there was no proper investigation.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register