By Fulya Ozerkan
A sleeper cell acting on orders from the Islamic State (IS) carried out the massive bombings on a peace rally in Ankara this month to try to disrupt Turkey's election, prosecutors say.
The Ankara prosecutor's office said there was "strong evidence" that the cell was also behind other attacks in the country, including one on the border with Syria in July, and was planning more atrocities.
"The cell received permission from the terrorist group in Syria to attack all PPK(Kurdistan Workers' Party) and anti-Daesh targets inside Turkey," it said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for the IS group.
The October 10 attack targeted a peace rally staged by pro-Kurdish activists and leftists, and was the worst ever on Turkish soil, killing 102 people and raising tensions ahead of this Sunday's general election.
"Disrupting political stability by sabotaging the upcoming elections and complicating the formation of a government... that would emerge after the elections," was one of the motives, the prosecutor's statement said.
It said the sleeper cell was based in the southeastern province of Gaziantep which borders war-torn Syria.
Turkish officials had said previously the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers, including at least one Turk, and that the IS group was the number one suspect.
The prosecutors said information extracted from electronic devices had revealed "crucial information" about the organisation behind the carnage, including the flow of funds to cells in Turkey from bases in Syria.
Police this week launched raids on suspected IS hideouts in several parts of the country, including an operation in the main Kurdish city of Diyarbakir which resulted in the death of two Turkish policemen and seven militants.
AFP
