Islamic State suicide bomber kills 30 in Turkish town near Syrian border
Most of the dead were university students who had been planning a mission to help Kobane residents.
A suicide bomber yesterday attacked a cultural centre hosting anti-Islamic State (IS) activists in a Turkish town near the border with Syria, killing 30 people in an "act of terror" blamed on the jihadist group.
The blast ripped through the centre in Suruc, a town opposite the Syrian flashpoint of Kobane - which was itself later hit by a suicide car bombing.
Most of the dead were university students who had been planning a mission to help Kobane residents, according to a pro-Kurdish party official.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a visit to northern Cyprus, condemned the attack as an "act of terror".
"On behalf of my people, I curse and condemn the perpetrators of this brutality," he said. "Terror must be condemned no matter where it comes from."
The force of the explosion blew out the windows of the building and set off a blaze, witnesses said. Television footage showed several people lying on the ground covered in blood and ambulances rushing to the scene.
"Turkish authorities have strong reason to believe the terrorist attack was perpetrated by ISIS," a government official said.