Turkish PM: 10 more suspects held in Ankara blasts case
The suspects have been held in connection with tweets claiming an attack may take place in Ankara hours before Saturday's deadly bombings, Davutoglu says
Ten suspects have been taken into custody in connection with suspicious posts appearing on Twitter, claiming an attack may take place in Ankara hours before Saturday's deadly bombings, Turkish premier revealed Thursday.
In a live interview with private news channel TGRT Haber Thursday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said: "We have ten more detentions as investigations deepen further", adding that the suspects were linked with Daesh and PKK terrorist organizations.
Davutoglu added that the detentions took place on Wednesday and Thursday.
"We have begun to uncover the activities of Daesh which is always mentioned as the usual suspect and the network within this framework,” the premier said, adding that the probe was also looking into identities of the suspected suicide bombers involved and the cooperation they allegedly received.
He assured that no efforts would be spared to nab and reveal the perpetrators behind the attack.
On Wednesday, Davutoglu revised the official death toll from 97 to 99 people dead, which also included a Palestinian national. Hundreds of other people were also injured in Saturday’s bombings at a peace rally outside Ankara’s main train station.
Also on Thursday, a university student was reportedly held in central Eskisehir province for allegedly tweeting about the Ankara explosions several hours before the incident took place.
According to local security sources, the suspect O.S. was a 23-year-old Anadolu University student, who was detained at his home and sent to Ankara for further investigations.
The suspicious post was shared a day before the attack, using the account named "Pir Ozan Abdal", which suggested that an alleged "attack by police" at the peace rally in Ankara on Saturday could lead to a stampede.
"A possible bomb attack could spark off one of the greatest slaughters. It is most likely...It is also possible that nothing will happen. Hundreds of people may die because of little provocations," the alleged account claimed in the Twitter post.
An investigation into the owner of the account was launched after the incident.
Saturday’s blasts have shaken Turkey as the country faces a general election re-run on Nov. 1, military operations in the southeast and the ongoing civil war in Syria close to its borders.
