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| Suspected suicide bomber strikes Turkish town near Syrian border | Suspected suicide bomber strikes Turkish town near Syrian border |
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| At least 27 people have died and almost 100 have been injured in an apparent suicide bombing in a Turkish town near the Syrian border – one of the most serious incidents yet of violent spillover from the Syrian war into its northern neighbour. | At least 27 people have died and almost 100 have been injured in an apparent suicide bombing in a Turkish town near the Syrian border – one of the most serious incidents yet of violent spillover from the Syrian war into its northern neighbour. |
| The town of Suruç lies across the border from the Kurdish enclave of Kobani – scene of heavy fighting between Syrian Kurdish fighters and Islamic State. The interior ministry said the death toll from the “terror attack” outside a cultural centre is expected to rise. | The town of Suruç lies across the border from the Kurdish enclave of Kobani – scene of heavy fighting between Syrian Kurdish fighters and Islamic State. The interior ministry said the death toll from the “terror attack” outside a cultural centre is expected to rise. |
| Photographs circulated on social media showed bodies strewn in the garden of the centre, where young people from the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations were gathering for a press conference before a planned visit to Kobani to assist with its reconstruction. The organisation published a photograph just before the blast, showing the young people gathered at a table in the garden. | Photographs circulated on social media showed bodies strewn in the garden of the centre, where young people from the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations were gathering for a press conference before a planned visit to Kobani to assist with its reconstruction. The organisation published a photograph just before the blast, showing the young people gathered at a table in the garden. |
| “I saw more than 20 bodies. I think the number of wounded is more than 50. They are still being put into ambulances,” one witness told Reuters by telephone. “It was a huge explosion, we all shook.” | “I saw more than 20 bodies. I think the number of wounded is more than 50. They are still being put into ambulances,” one witness told Reuters by telephone. “It was a huge explosion, we all shook.” |
| Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said: “I condemn those who conducted this brutality. Terror has no religion, no country, no race.” | Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said: “I condemn those who conducted this brutality. Terror has no religion, no country, no race.” |
| There was no confirmation of who was responsible for the attack, though Turkish media speculated that it may have been perpetrated by an 18-year old female Isis suicide bomber. The daily Hurriyet newspaper quoted the governor of Sanliurfa as saying it was a suicide attack. | There was no confirmation of who was responsible for the attack, though Turkish media speculated that it may have been perpetrated by an 18-year old female Isis suicide bomber. The daily Hurriyet newspaper quoted the governor of Sanliurfa as saying it was a suicide attack. |
| Two senior Turkish officials told Reuters they suspected that Isis was responsible, citing “initial evidence” and saying it was “retaliation for the Turkish government’s efforts to fight terrorism”. | Two senior Turkish officials told Reuters they suspected that Isis was responsible, citing “initial evidence” and saying it was “retaliation for the Turkish government’s efforts to fight terrorism”. |
| Also on Monday, a suicide bomber in a car targeted a checkpoint for the YPG, the mainly Kurdish militia in Syria, in southern Kobani, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. | Also on Monday, a suicide bomber in a car targeted a checkpoint for the YPG, the mainly Kurdish militia in Syria, in southern Kobani, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. |
| It was the latest attack against the enclave, which emerged as a symbol of Kurdish defiance against Isis. After months of ferocious fighting backed by air strikes by a US-led coalition, Kurdish militias were able to regain control of Kobani after an ill-fated assault by Isis that saw the militant group lose hundreds of fighters. | |
| Earlier this month, Isis carried out an assault on the city, killing over 200 in one of its largest single massacres of civilians since it emerged on the scene in Syria two years ago. | Earlier this month, Isis carried out an assault on the city, killing over 200 in one of its largest single massacres of civilians since it emerged on the scene in Syria two years ago. |
| There was no evidence that Monday’s attacks were coordinated, though the bombing in Suruç is a dangerous escalation against Turkey. Many foreigners cross its long and porous southern border on their way to fight with Isis. | There was no evidence that Monday’s attacks were coordinated, though the bombing in Suruç is a dangerous escalation against Turkey. Many foreigners cross its long and porous southern border on their way to fight with Isis. |
| Turkey also backs a number of rebel groups fighting to overthrow the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, who is in the throes of a rebellion now in its fifth year. Turkey also hosts 1.7 million registered Syrian refugees who have fled the conflict. | Turkey also backs a number of rebel groups fighting to overthrow the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, who is in the throes of a rebellion now in its fifth year. Turkey also hosts 1.7 million registered Syrian refugees who have fled the conflict. |
| Kurdish militias allied with Syrian opposition fighters have recently ousted Isis from large tracts of land near the Turkish border, including the town of Tal Abyad, a key stopping point for foreign fighters. The advances sparked concerns in Turkey, which fought a long-running insurgency with the Kurds, that their old nemeses were carving out an autonomous zone of control. The public concern sparked talk of a possible Turkish military intervention and an expansion of its presence on the border. | Kurdish militias allied with Syrian opposition fighters have recently ousted Isis from large tracts of land near the Turkish border, including the town of Tal Abyad, a key stopping point for foreign fighters. The advances sparked concerns in Turkey, which fought a long-running insurgency with the Kurds, that their old nemeses were carving out an autonomous zone of control. The public concern sparked talk of a possible Turkish military intervention and an expansion of its presence on the border. |