Turkey's 9/11 Divides Nation

At USA Today, "Turkish PM says ISIL is focus of bombing probe":

The Islamic State group is the “No. 1 priority” in the investigation into twin bombings that killed nearly 100 people in the Turkish capital, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday.

The premier told private broadcaster NTV that authorities were close to identifying the two suicide bombers who carried out the attacks in Ankara on Saturday. He declined to name the organization behind them, but said the focus is on the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Yeni Safak, a newspaper close to the government, on Monday reported that investigators were testing DNA samples from the families of 20 Turks they believe belong to ISIL.

The Hurriyet newspaper said the type of device and explosives used in Saturday's attacks were the same as those used in a suicide bombing the government says ISIL committed near the town of Suruc, which borders Syria, that killed 33 peace activists in July...

Also, "Thousands of mourners gather near scene of Ankara's bombings":

ANKARA — Thousands of mourners flooded the streets of Turkey's capital on Sunday, a day after twin explosions killed at least 95 people and injured hundreds of others in the deadliest terrorist assault ever carried out on Turkish soil.

The mood was tense during the largely peaceful gathering, as demonstrators alternated between grief for lost loved ones and anger towards Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government, which many believe could have done more to prevent the attacks.

The crowd chanted slogans including “we want justice” and “Erdogan is a thief and a murderer,” as some mourners carried photographs of victims. Riot police and water canon vehicles surrounded the rally, but remained in the distance.

On Sunday, the government, which denies any involvement in the blasts, said it has appointed two chief civil inspectors and two chief police inspectors to investigate the bombings, which also wounded at least 246 people, according to the prime minister’s office.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu suggested that the attack could have been carried out by the extremist Islamic State, Kurdish militants or radical leftist groups.

Earlier in the morning, police used teargas to stop people bearing carnations in memory of those who lost their lives from entering the site of the blasts. About 70 people were eventually allowed to enter the cordoned-off area outside the main train station, the Associated Press reported. The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said in a statement that police attacked its leaders and members as they tried to leave flowers at the scene.

Saturday's attack, during a peace rally near Ankara's central train station, sent shockwaves across the country. The blasts, which came just seconds apart shortly after 10 a.m., happened when hundreds of demonstrators — many of them supporters of the HDP — had gathered to protest escalating violence between Turkish security forces and Kurdish separatist insurgents.

“This is as close as it gets to being Turkeys 9/11,” said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish research program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “But whereas most countries would unite after a massacre like this, Turkey has become so polarized between supporters and opponents of Mr. Erdogan that almost immediately the reaction has been a blame game in which  supporters of the government blame the (Kurdish rebels) and opponents blame the government.”

After declaring three days of mourning and calling for national unity against terrorism, the prime minister exchanged barbs with HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas over responsibility for the violence...

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