The recent bombings in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, happened at a peace rally near a train station on Saturday 10th October, resulting in 246 people getting injured and 95 people dying. These explosions have to be one of the deadliest in recent Turkish history, and the death toll is expected to climb.

One of the head members of the Turkish Medical Association, Dr. Huseyin Demirdezen, stated, “in total 97 people have been murdered, 68 of them died right after the blast, whereas 29 of them were severely wounded and sent to the hospital where they lost their lives.” Each survey is giving out different figures. For example, the figures reported by the Turkish Medical Association are higher than the ones given out by the government. These explosions and attacks have been recorded to be so powerful that they shook skyscrapers and high-rise buildings. The prime minister of Turkey, Ahmed Davutoglu, described this event as an “attack on the entire nation and an attack on our unity.”

The majority of the victims had been calling for an end to the rising tensions and conflicts between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and it is believed that it was two suicide bombers that caused the two explosive blasts. What is unclear is who is responsible for such a deadly attack.

As no one as has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the two main, automatic suspects are the Kurdish separatists in Turkey and the ISIS terrorists. The Kurdish separatists are suspects mainly because of their suffering peace process with the Turkish government. A recent event that escalated the tensions between the two was Erodogan's party failing to address the reconciliation process after losing votes in Kurdish-populated regions of Turkey. Even though at the same time President Erodogan called for “peace and solidarity,” his actions did not reflect that as he completely disregarded the Kurds. This could have led to increasing hostility, which may have resulted in this murderous and extremely bloody reaction.

The other major suspect, or the primary one rather, is ISIS. The bombings could have largely been a reaction to the recent involvement of the United States in Turkey; as the Turkish authority and officials recently allowed the U.S. to launch strikes on ISIS from the Incirlik air base in Southern Turkey. Even according to geographical setting, it is convenient for ISIS to attack in Turkey as the southern part borders with Syria, and the attack could symbolize the fear ISIS wants to create in Turkey.

After such a deadly event, it is essential that the Turkish government address the peace process with the Kurds and work on reconciliation, and also guard up the Southern bases to avoid any ISIS involvement. They should also simultaneously investigate further to avoid such an event in the future, because it has been recorded as one of the most harmful in recent years, and can cause Turkey to lose its “security and peace” pride in the region.