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Turkey PM says IS prime suspect in deadliest attack

12 October 2015 19:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday said the Islamic State (IS) extremist group was the prime suspect in the double suicide bombings in Ankara that killed 97 and sparked anger over the authorities' failure to ensure security, APA reports quoting AFP.

In his first interview since Turkey was scarred on Saturday by its deadliest ever attack, Davutoglu insisted that a snap election would go ahead as planned on November 1 despite the bloodshed.

The attack on a peace rally of leftist, labour and Kurdish activists ratcheted up tensions to new heights in Turkey as the government wages a relentless campaign against Kurdish militants and also battles IS jihadists.

"Looking at how the incident took place, we are probing Daesh as our first priority," Davutoglu told NTV television, using an alternative Arabic acronym for IS.

"We are close to a name (for one bomber). That name points to an organisation," he said.

Davutoglu however remained cautious, saying that authorities were also investigating the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the far-left Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP-C) as "potential suspects".

But this has sparked an angry reaction from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP), which strongly disputes the official death toll and has released the names of 120 victims, claiming eight more have yet to be identified.

Turkey was long accused by its NATO allies of not taking a tougher line against IS as the group seized swathes of northern Iraq and Syria and battled Kurdish militias.

However after months of Western pressure, Turkey is now a full member of the US-led coalition against IS and allowing American jets to use its Incirlik air base for raids, making it possibly more vulnerable to attack.

With international concern growing over Turkey's stability, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to visit Sunday to discuss Turkey and Syria, a spokesman said.