Suspected Turkish suicide bomber had traveled to Syria: officials

A suicide bomber who killed at least 32 people, mostly young students, in southeastern Turkey is thought to have traveled to Syria last year with the help of a group linked to Islamic State, a senior Turkish official said on Wednesday.  There was “strong evidence” to suggest the bombing in the border town of Suruc on Monday was carried out by a 20-year old man born in the southeastern province of Adiyaman and of Kurdish origin, the official told Reuters. Turkey’s NATO allies have expressed concern about control of the border which in parts runs directly parallel with territories controlled by Islamic State. Some 1.8 million Syrian refugees live on the Turkish side and smuggling is rife.

He was active in a Syria-linked group supporting the Islamic State. We know that he went to Syria illegally. It was not possible to track him during his time there.

An official said

He had links with another alleged bomber who attacked a pro-Kurdish political rally in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir days ahead of a June 7 parliamentary election, killing four people and wounding at least 200, the official said. The Radikal newspaper quoted what it said was the man’s mother saying he was a former student at Adiyaman university who had worked as a painter with his 25-year old brother before going abroad.

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