Ankara Suspects Turkish National of Suruc Suicide Bombing

A suicide bomber responsible for a recent terrorist attack in the Turkish city of Suruc near the Syrian border was allegedly a Turkish national, Turkish media reported Tuesday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — On Monday, at least 32 people were killed and over 100 injured in a suicide bombing at a cultural center in Suruc. The center was a meeting place for Turkish Kurds intending to go to Syria to restore Kobani, a Kurdish city damaged in multiple battles with the Islamic State militants.

Abdurrahman Alagöz, a 20-year-old Turkish national, is thought to be the perpetrator of the attack, the Beser Haber newspaper reported, citing local police.

An investigation is currently underway, but Alagoz remains the key suspect, the newspaper added.

Alagoz’s mother was quoted by the media as saying that she had lost contact with her son about 10 days ago, and before that he had been abroad for half a year, together with his younger brother.

Earlier in the day, the Hurriyet newspaper had reported that the suicide bomber was an 18-year old Muslim woman.

Authorities are calling the blast a terror attack and suggesting it was carried out by the ISIL. Turkey has tightened security in both directions along the border following the attack.

The ISIL militant group controls large areas in Syria and Iraq and is notorious multiple human rights atrocities and recruiting members from around the world using social media.