“It was not possible to track him during his time there”, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.
A bomb attack in the Turkish town of Suruc has killed over thirty people during a meeting of young activists to discuss the reconstruction of the neighboring Syrian town of Kobane.
Suruc is across the border from the Syrian city of Kobane, the scene of fierce battles between Kurdish groups and ISIL. “The protesters in Istanbul were chanting ‘Murderer Isis, collaborator Erdogan and AKP”, making the oft-repeated accusation that the Turkish government is soft on Isis due to its own internal priorities.
There have been rallies in cities across the country, with people condemning the attack and protesting at the government’s policies on Syria.
The blast occurred in Sanliurfa, Turkey, during a press conference held by youth activists in the garden of a cultural center.
Security sources earlier told Reuters the officers were found dead with bullet wounds to the head in the house they shared in Ceylanpinar, on the border with Syria some 160 km (100 miles) east of Suruc, the site of Monday’s suicide bombing.
A Turkish court has ordered a ban on publishing images of the deadly suicide bombing on the border with Syria on all print, visual and online media, including Twitter, a Turkish official said on Wednesday.
But there could be an alternative explanation to this attack, Abrahms said.
He added there was a “high probability” the attack was caused by a suicide bomber with connections to Daesh (the so-called IS) militants.
The pro-Kurdish HDP party has blamed the government for a security and intelligence vacuum in relation to Monday’s bombing – charges dismissed by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
President Tayyip Erdogan said they don’t plan any unilateral invasion into Syria but strongly declared the Turks will do whatever is necessary to defend the nation’s borders. Well, their anger is directed at their government.
Davutoglu said the death toll had risen to 32 and that 29 injured victims were still in hospital.
The attack on Monday raised fears of a spill-over of the Syrian conflict into Turkey.
A government official said Turkey had asked Twitter to remove 107 URLs with images of the bombing’s aftermath.
Turkish authorities point to the challenge of controlling the 911 kilometre (566 mile) border with Syria while remaining open to the refugees fleeing the country s civil war, as well as 38 million tourists a year.
Just before the attack, they had been pictured seated at tables enjoying breakfast and tea.
