Turkey is not sure if bomber was a child
ANKARA: Turkey on Monday went back on claims that a child bomber linked to Islamic State (IS) carried out a deadly suicide bombing close to Syria, saying it had no clue who was behind the attack.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Ankara could not confirm who was the perpetrator of the attack on a Kurdish wedding in the city of Gaziantep which left 54 dead, apparently contradicting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had said it was a child bomber acting on IS orders.
“We do not have a clue about who the perpetrators behind the attack were. Early information on who did the attack, in what organisation’s name, is unfortunately not right,” Yildirim told reporters in Ankara. His comments were in stark contrast with those by Erdogan who said on Sunday that the bomber was a child aged between 12-14 acting on orders of IS jihadists.
Yildirim described as “rumours” whether the attack was conducted by a child or an adult, while insisting security agencies would continue their work to find out who was responsible.
“Those who were behind the attack will be revealed, there is no doubt about this.”
The Hurriyet daily said DNA tests were under way to ascertain the bomber’s identity, nationality and gender. Security forces believed jihadists had timed the attack as retaliation for offensives both by Kurdish militias and pro-Ankara Syrian opposition forces against IS in Syria, Turkish press reports had said. AGENCIES