Turkish police finds ID card suspected to have belonged to suicide bomber

Mesut Hasan Benli - ANKARA

AFP photo

Turkish security forces have found an identity card suspected to have belonged to one of the suicide bomb attackers in the Oct. 10 double suicide bombings in Ankara that killed at least 97 people.

The identity card was found near the body of someone considered to be one of the assailants, sources from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, in charge of the investigation, said on Oct. 13, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 

During the preliminary examination, security forces confirmed that the identity card belonged to a suspect, rather than the attendees of the peace rally who lost their lives in the attack. While efforts have been underway to find the identity of the second suicide bomber, the Prosecutor’s Office has decided not to make the identity of the first suspect public in order to avoid spoiling evidence and conduct a sound investigation. 

A finger torn apart during the explosion, which hasn’t been harmed and thought to belong to the first suicide bomber, has also been examined.

Suspected Twitter accounts

Before the attack, messages indicating that a terrorist attack would take place in the capital city of Ankara were shared by fake Twitter accounts. The Prosecutor’s Office appealed to the Telecommunication and Communications Directorate and asked for information on the identities of those who opened the accounts “Anotoly,” “Todorov” and “GoranMetasyan.” The Prosecutor’s Office also “very urgently” asked for the accounts’ IP addresses, tweets and direct messages, along with e-mail addresses used for opening these accounts.

Twitter’s headquarters in the United States shared all the information requested by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

DNA samples from families

As part of investigation, DNA samples have been taken from the families of 21 individuals known to have joined the ranks of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Oct. 12 that ISIL was the prime suspect for the attack, Turkey’s deadliest ever, which targeted a rally of labor, leftist and Kurdish activists.

Meanwhile, DNA samples have been taken from seven families of people killed in the attack that could not yet be identified.

Families who said their relatives were among the dead but could not be identified have begun giving their testimonies to the Prosecutor’s Office as “victim/complainant.”