Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 31 in Turkish Border Town

At the Wall Street Journal, "Attack is near embattled Syrian town of Kobani":

ISTANBUL—Turkey’s government blamed Islamic State for a suicide bombing in a Kurdish border town that killed at least 31 people, one of the worst cases of spillover violence from the four-year-old war in neighboring Syria.

The attacker targeted a cultural center in the town of Suruc where some 300 members of socialist youth groups from across the country were meeting Monday to prepare rebuilding projects in the Syrian city of Kobani, just across the border. Authorities said they suspect a suicide bomber on foot waded into a crowd and detonated explosives, shattering windows and leaving limbs scattered in the yard. More than 100 people were wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the deadliest attack along the border in more than two years. But if Islamic State was behind it, it would be the group’s first known suicide bombing in Turkey.

The Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani was the site of a major victory for Kurdish militia forces over Islamic State in January after a four-month battle. The Syrian Kurdish forces went on to push the extremist fighters from other parts of northern Syria more recently—raising the possibility that the attack in Suruc was retaliation for those Kurdish advances.

The bombing may also have been a response to an intensified Turkish crackdown on Islamic State in recent weeks, a government official in Ankara said. Authorities have arrested scores of suspected members of the group in raids across the country, stepping up ongoing raids. Officials have tightened border controls to try to stem the flow of foreign fighters, deporting about 1,500 mostly Western visitors to Turkey as allies increased intelligence sharing.

“Initial findings point to a suicide bomber and Daesh,” Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, referring to Islamic State by its Arabic acronym. Speaking after an extraordinary security meeting on the attack, he said terrorist organizations were trying to sabotage Turkey and derail a stable democracy in the region.

Suruc has emerged as a major staging ground for Kurds and their supporters seeking to cross into Kobani.

“They were targeted by anti-democratic forces that don’t want Kobani to be rebuilt,” said Idres Nassan Hassan, a Kurdish official in Kobani. “Those who carried out this attack are part of the terrorists that we are fighting.”

Thousands of people across Turkey protested the bombing, with some marching against Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

But others criticized the government and Mr. Davutoglu’s party, repeating oft-heard accusations that they support or tolerate Islamic State for the greater goal of ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The prime minister vehemently rejected the charge.

Turkey’s government said it was tightening security along its 565-mile border with Syria after the bombing. Ankara’s effort to clamp down on supporters may trigger more strikes by terrorists going forward, another Turkish official said.

“We are aware of ISIS capabilities inside Turkey,” the official said. “Turkey is seriously prioritizing this issue to bring it under control.”

Still more.

Also, "Turkey Says One Suspect Identified in Suicide Bombing."