An apparent suicide bombing ripped through a rally Monday in the
Turkish border town of Suruc, leaving at least 28 people dead and wounding 100
others, provincial Gov. Izzettin Kucuk told Turkish media.
The explosion
occurred at midday at the Amara Cultural Park in Suruc, where a group had
gathered calling for more help to rebuild the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani,
CNN Turk reported.
Suruc is about 6
miles from the border and Kobani, the Syrian city that was the scene of intense
fighting between Syrian rebels and Kurdish forces and ISIS.
Explosions at
Turkish political rally kill at least 2, injure 100
Photos and video
taken from the scene show bodies strewn around a park and dazed people at the
blast site while emergency teams rush to aid victims.
"Kids were screaming, everyone was screaming and
running," eyewitness Erhan Subasi told CNN. "Everyone was in a panic
but trying to help."
There was no
immediate claim of responsibility, but Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu suggested
ISIS was responsible for the attack.
He urged the
country to unite and said the government would not hesitate in taking action in
response to the bombing.
A Turkish
official speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity said the government thinks
the attack is "retaliation to the Turkish government's fight against
terrorism."
The official called for the international anti-ISIS coalition to
"more actively pursue a solution to the crisis in Syria."
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attack.
"Terror
doesn't have a nation, race or homeland. That is why we have been consistent in
underlining the need for a global effort to fight terror," he said.
Deputy Prime
Minister Yalçın Akdoğan also condemned the attack "and its inhuman
perpetrators," according to a government media office.
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