Turkish police arrest 50 in connection with Ankara blasts
Iran Press TV
Sun Oct 18, 2015 10:46AM
Police in Turkey have arrested some 50 foreign nationals that authorities believe might be linked to a recent deadly bomb attack in the capital, Ankara.
According to the NTV news channel, the raids during the early hours of Sunday were carried out in the Pendik suburb on the Asian side of the city of Istanbul.
Media reports did not specify the nationalities of the detainees, but the Dogan news agency said the suspects had been planning to enter Iraq and Syria to join the ranks of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists.
On October 10, twin blasts targeted a number of activists who had gathered outside Ankara's main train station for a peace rally organized by leftist and pro-Kurdish opposition groups. The Turkish government says 102 died in the bombings, but the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) puts the death toll at 128.
Following the blasts, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the attack may have been carried out by Daesh terrorists or Kurdish fighters in Syria.
One of the assailants is reportedly identified as Yunus Emre Alagoz, brother of the man who carried out a similar bombing in the southern Kurdish town of Suruc on the border with Syria in July. Over 30 people lost their lives in that blast.
Reports said the other attacker, Omer Deniz Dundar, had recently visited Syria two times.
Political tension has been on the rise in Turkey since October 10, as the country prepares for the November 1 snap elections. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) failed to win a majority in the June parliamentary elections and could not form a coalition government with the main opposition factions.
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