Special to WorldTribune.com

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is suspected of carrying out twin bombings in Turkey on Oct. 10 that killed at least 97 people at a peace rally in Ankara.

The type of devices and explosives used in the Oct. 10 bombings were the same as those used in a July bomb attack that killed 33 Turkish and Kurdish peace activists gathered near the town of Suruc near the Syrian border, according to the Hurriyet newspaper. ISIL was the prime suspect in the July attack as well.

Many observers believe ISIL may be planning and carrying out attacks in Turkey in response to Ankara’s recent decision to actively support the U.S.-led coalition fighting the terror group in Syria and Iraq. Turkey has opened its air bases to U.S. warplanes and has itself carried out strikes on ISIL targets.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) put the death toll from the Oct. 10 attack at 128 and HDP officials said they had identified all but eight of those killed. The HDP believes it was the target of the attack.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a live television interview on Oct. 12 that the bombings may have been an attempt to influence parliamentary elections set for Nov. 1.

“It was definitely a suicide bombing. DNA tests are being conducted. It was determined how the suicide bombers got there. We’re close to a name, which points to one group,” Davutoglu said.

The two explosions on Oct. 10 happened seconds apart during a peace march organized by pro-Kurdish groups to protest the ongoing conflict between Turkish government forces and Kurdish militants in the southeast. Turkey’s military over the weekend carried out more air strikes on Kurdish targets in the Zap and Metina regions of Iraq.

The attack in Ankara occurred just hours before Kurdish rebels declared a unilateral cease-fire which was rejected by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. The government is demanding that rebels lay down their arms and leave the country.

  Ahmet Davutoglu, Ankara, ISIL suspected in deadly bombing at Turkish peace rally, WorldTribune.com