Turkey bomber believed to be suicide attacker's brother

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Speculation is growing that one of the two suicide bombers responsible for Turkey's worst terror attack in modern times could be the missing brother of a terrorist who committed a similar attack in July.

Yunus Emre Alagoz, whose younger brother Abdurrahman killed 33 people in a bomb massacre in July, was named by Turkish police in local media.

His whereabouts have been unknown since July, when his brother carried out a suicide attack that targeted pro-Kurdish activists in the town of Suruc on Turkey's Syrian border. The activists were planning to cross into the northern Syrian town of Kobane to help rebuild it after Isis (Islamic State) attacks.

The younger Alagoz brother, who is himself of Kurdish origin, is believed to have acted on behalf of Isis, having spent time among their ranks in Syria.

Turkish security sources told Reuters yesterday that initial investigations indicated that Isis was responsible for last weekend's attack, which targeted a peace rally attended by activists, labour unions and pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) members.

Two bombs exploded, killing 97 people and injuring nearly 250, according to official figures. Thousands had gathered at the square in central Ankara for a rally against the violence that has broken out between the Turkish state and Kurdish separatists.

The attack was carried out by two attackers using TNT explosives, with metal balls added to make projectiles, security officials in Ankara told state-run news agency, Anadolu.

"This attack was in the style of Suruc and all the signs are that it was a copy of that attack ... the signs point to [Isis]," one official said yesterday.

The HDP said the death toll could rise as high as 128.