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Identification of Ankara bomber muddled by faulty communication

Debate over the identity of the February suicide bomber in Ankara reveals flaws in authorities' communication.
Honour guards carry Turkish flag-draped coffins of car bombing victims during a funeral ceremony at Kocatepe mosque in Ankara, Turkey February 19, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX27OD3
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The Feb. 17 suicide bombing in Ankara that targeted government and military personnel will be remembered as Turkey’s first “gray” terror act. Authorities wanted to consider it a black-and-white case. But faulty, murky communication about the attacker's identity leaves it gray.

The morning after the attack, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu clearly and firmly announced that the People's Protection Units (YPG), which it says is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was behind the attack. He said there was concrete evidence that the perpetrator was Salih Neccar and that he was linked to the YPG. 

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