28-03-2024 06:27 PM Jerusalem Timing

Turkey Holds Security Talks after Blast amid Anger over Anakra’s Policy

Turkey Holds Security Talks after Blast amid Anger over Anakra’s Policy

The killings prompted angry demonstrations in several towns, who took to the streets to condemn the attack and protest against Ankara’s policy in Syria

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will chair a cabinet meeting Wednesday on bolstering security along the country's porous border after a devastating bombing blamed on the Takfiri group, ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and Levant).

Thirty-two people were killed and more than 100 wounded on Monday when a blast ripped through a gathering of young socialist activists preparing to take aid over the border into the flashpoint Syrian town of Kobani.

Turkey blastAuthorities said Tuesday they had identified a suspect in the suicide bombing in the town of Suruc, in a mainly Kurdish region on the Syrian border, the first attack on Turkish soil that the government has blamed directly on ISIL militants.

In harrowing scenes earlier in the day, relatives of the dead clutched the victims' coffins in a farewell ceremony in the southeastern city of Gaziantep ahead of their burial in towns across Turkey.

The killings prompted angry demonstrations by pro-Kurdish activists in several towns, who took to the streets to condemn the attack and protest against Ankara's policy in war-torn neighboring Syria.

Turkey has long been accused of not doing enough to halt the rise of ISIL, and even colluding with the group, media reports say.

In Istanbul, police fired tear gas and water cannons at a crowd of some 800 people that had gathered chanting anti-government slogans, including: "Murderer state will be brought to account." Demonstrations also took place in the predominantly Kurdish town of Nusaybin on the border with Syria.

Speaking during a visit to Sanliurfa, the hub of the region where Suruc is located, Prime Minister Davutoglu said there was a "high probability" the suicide bomber had connections to ISIL, without giving further details.

"One suspect has been identified. All the (suspect's) links internationally and domestically are being investigated," Davutoglu said, vowing to do "whatever is necessary against whomever is responsible".

"We expect this investigation to be concluded as soon as possible," he said, after visiting the 29 wounded still in hospital. "This is an attack that targeted Turkey."