2015 Suruç bombing

2015 Suruç bombing
Part of Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
Forensic experts at the crime scene after the explosion
Location	Suruç, Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey
Coordinates	36°58′50″N 38°25′32″E / 36.98056°N 38.42556°E / 36.98056; 38.42556Coordinates: 36°58′50″N 38°25′32″E / 36.98056°N 38.42556°E / 36.98056; 38.42556
Date	20 July 2015 (2015-07-20) 12:00 (EEST)
Attack type	Suicide bombing, mass murder
Deaths	33 (including suicide bomber)
Non-fatal injuries	104
Suspected perpetrators	Şeyh Abdurrahman Alagöz, allegedly recruited by ISIL (see also section Perpetrators)

The 2015 Suruç bombing took place in the Suruç district of Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey at approximately 12:00 local time on 20 July 2015, outside the Amara Culture Centre. 33 people were killed and 104 were reported injured. Most victims were members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) Youth Wing and the Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF), university-ages students who were giving a press statement on their planned trip to reconstruct the Syrian border town of Kobanî.

Kobanî, which is approximately 10 km from Suruç, was until January under siege by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces. More than 300 members of the SGDF had travelled from İstanbul to Suruç to participate in three to four days of rebuilding work in Kobanî, and had been staying at Amara Cultural Centre while preparing to cross the border. The explosion, which was caught on camera, was identified as being caused by a cluster bomb detonated during what was perceived to be a suicide attack.

The next day, ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) claimed responsibility for the attack. ISIL had allegedly made the decision to pursue more active operations in Turkey just days before the attack. The attacker, Şeyh Abdurrahman Alagöz (20), an ethnic Kurd from Adıyaman, reportedly had links to Islamic State militants.

This was possibly the first planned attack by ISIL on Turkish soil, although previous incidents such as the 2013 Reyhanlı bombings, the 2015 Istanbul suicide bombing, and the 2015 Diyarbakır rally bombings have also been blamed by some on ISIL. The bombing resulted in a new escalation between Turkey and ISIL, with Turkish soldiers and ISIL militants directly engaging in the border town of Kilis on 24 July 2015. This led to Turkey launching Operation Martyr Yalçın, a series of airstrikes against mostly Kurdish militant positions in Northern Iraq and Syria. Large-scale operations against PKK, but including some ISIL targets, began on 24 July; however, most arrests were of PKK members. The bombing was met with international condemnation by a variety of organizations, as well as promises by the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) to tighten the Turkish-Syrian border following the attack. The opposition criticised the government for not securing the border beforehand, while the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) also came under scrutiny for endorsing the crossing of the victims past the border despite significant threats from ISIL.