DNA Test Confirms Identity Of Turkey Suicide Bomber With Suspected Links With ISIS

It was a Turkish citizen who killed at least 32 people in a suicide attack at a cultural centre in southeast Turkey. A senior government official said on Wednesday that the suicide bomber is believed to have been connected with Islamic State extremists.

According to Anadolu news agency, the suspect has been identified as Seyh Abdurrahman Alagoz. At least 100 other people were injured during the suicide attack, considered as one of the deadliest terror attacks in Turkey in many years.

Alagoz is believed to be a 20-year-old university student. DNA tests have confirmed the identity of the suspect. Turkish media reports confirm that the suspect had recently returned from Syria. A Turkish official said that, even though the investigation was still going on, there was evidence to suspect that the suicide bomber had been linked to ISIS.

CNN quoted an anonymous Turkish official who said that the suspect was from the southern Turkish town of Adiyaman, around 90 km north of Suruc. Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu said Tuesday that investigations were going on to find out the identified suspect’s domestic and international links. "Right now, links to ISIS and it being a suicide bomber have gained probability," he said, "We expect the investigation to be completed as soon as possible."

BBC earlier reported that the suspect was a woman. Abdullah Ciftci, the district governor of Suruc, said that the suicide attack increased the possibility of the involvement of ISIS militants.

The HPG, an armed Kurdish organization, claimed the responsibility of killing two Turkish police officers. They said in an online statement on Wednesday that they had killed the officers in retaliation for the Suruc bombing.

The organization, affiliated with the Kurdish Workers' Party, said that the officers were cooperating with ISIS militants. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc called the attack as "an act of terror."

"Whether or not this group is really related to the PKK, or if this was done on an individual level, or if the claim statement was a propaganda attempt is being investigated by our intelligence and our security forces," New York Times quoted Arinc. The deputy PM was speaking at a news conference.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au