(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A suspected Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber killed at least 31 people yesterday in an attack on a Turkish cultural centre where activists had gathered to prepare for an aid mission in the nearby Syrian town of Kobane.
The blast ripped through the centre in Suruc, a town across the border from Kobane, which was later hit by a suicide car bombing - blowing out the windows and starting a fire, witnesses said.
Most of the dead were university students planning to enter Syria to help rebuild Kobane, occupied by IS for months before being recaptured by Kurdish forces in January. Some 100 were wounded.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a visit to northern Cyprus, condemned the attack as an "act of terror".
TV footage showed several people lying on the ground covered in blood and ambulances rushing to the scene. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pointed the finger of blame at IS for what was "clearly a terrorist attack".
"Preliminary findings point to it being a suicide attack carried out by Daesh," he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. "But we are not at a point to make a final judgement."
If confirmed, it would be the first such attack by IS fighters against Turkey, a regional military power and Nato member.
Alp Altinors from the pro-Kurdish HDP party said the group of some 300 activists who gathered in Suruc from across the country were from Federation of Socialist Youth Associations and most were students. "They were planning to build parks in Kobane, hand out toys for children and paint school walls." Davutoglu said the blast aimed to undermine Turkish democracy. "This attack targets us all," he said, dispatching three ministers to the southeastern region. "Daesh threatens not only Syrian people but also Turkey," he added.
The attack was followed by a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint in Kobane, which killed two members of the Kurdish security forces, according to Rami Abdel Rahman, Director, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest condemned the "heinous" attack, as did Russian President Vladimir Putin, who labelled it a "barbaric act" and called for greater international cooperation in fighting terrorism.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius joined in the condemnation.
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