Suruc 'Isis suicide bomber': Abdurrahman Alagoz identified as killer of 32 Turkish socialists

Turkish officials have identified the suicide bomber who attacked a Suruc cultural centre on 20 July as Abdurrahman Alagoz, a Turkish citizen who travelled illegally to Syria in 2014.

The 20-year-old is accused of carrying out the attack that killed 32 young socialists and aid volunteers that were preparing a summer expedition to help rebuild Kobane, just across the Syrian border. The massacre has been blamed on the Islamic State (Isis).

The suspect is an ethnic Kurd from the south-eastern town of Adiyaman, who also also had links with another alleged bomber who attacked a pro-Kurdish political rally days before a 7 June general election, according to Reuters.

AFP also quoted an unnamed Turkish official as saying that DNA tests confirmed the identity of Alagoz.

The ID of Alagoz was uncovered on an unrecognisable body at the crime scene. The young man's mother told Radikal newspaper that his son had gone abroad six months and returned only 10 days ago.

"They didn't tell us where they went and what kind of job they found there. I don't know whether he joined [IS]. He was a good boy," the woman said, adding that Alagoz' brother was also missing.

Earlier, Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that initial findings "point to a suicide bomber and Daesh", using the Arabic acronym for IS, and said the suspect "has been identified".

The jihadist targeted a cultural centre in the town of Suruc where 300 young members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) were present for a summer expedition to help rebuild Kobane, which was left ravaged by months of fighting between Kurdish fighters and IS militants.