October 12, 2015•Update: October 13, 2015
ANKARA
Turkey is “close” to identifying two suicide bombers who killed 97 people in Ankara on Saturday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday.
In an interview with private broadcaster NTV, Davutoglu said: “We are close to a name, which points to an organization.”
Saturday’s blasts have shaken Turkey as the country faces a general election re-run in three weeks, military operations in the southeast and the ongoing civil war on its southern border in Syria. The attack targeted left-wing and pro-Kurdish protestors who had gathered for a peace rally.
Davutoglu declined to identify the organization behind the blasts while the investigation was ongoing but said the focus was on Daesh, who were linked to the Suruc bombing in July that killed 33 pro-Kurdish activists.
Referring to Daesh, the PKK and leftist group the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), he said: “For us, these three organizations are seen as a potential focus for the crime and right from the start we gave priority to Daesh when looking at the method and general trend.”
The prime minister added: “We ascertained how these two suicide bombers arrived at the square and how they carried the bomb.”
A large amount of evidence had been gathered over the past 48 hours, Davutoglu added. Addressing concerns about the level of security for Saturday’s rally, he said the “necessary steps” would be taken if there was any “weakness and negligence” but he went on to deny there had been any holes in security arrangements for the protest.
He also warned of “far-reaching threats” against Turkish democracy.
Davutoglu criticized comments made by Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu's after a meeting between the pair on Sunday in which Kilicdaroglu revealed the content of their discussion.
He also criticized Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas for an impromptu media briefing he gave Saturday in which he held the government responsible for the blasts.
“He can criticize me as a prime minister and as AK [Justice and Development] Party chairman,” Davutoglu said. “But he is loses his grievance when he says the state conducted these murders.”
