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               Turkey Blocks Twitter In Response to Suruc Attack

   by VOA News

   Turkey said it has blocked access to Twitter to prevent the broadcast
   of photos of Monday's bombing in Suruc, in which at least 31 people
   died.

   Turkish officials said the ban will be lifted once images related to
   the attack have been removed.

   No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's suicide bombing,
   although Turkish officials say they have strong reasons to believe it
   was perpetrated by Islamic State militants.

   The explosion targeted an activist group of mostly university students
   who were planning to travel across the nearby border to Syria to help
   rebuild the city of Kobani.

   Watch related video: Kurdish anger erupts over suicide bombing

   ''Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attack as an
   "act of terror."

   The United States also strongly condemned the attack, calling it
   "heinous."

   "We express our solidarity with the Turkish government and the Turkish
   people and reaffirm our undeterred resolve to the fight against the
   shared threat of terrorism," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in
   a briefing with reporters.

   Suruc is home to a huge camp for Syrian refugees fleeing violence in
   their country.

   Just across the border in Syria, Kobani has been the site of intense
   battles between Kurdish forces and Islamic State militants.

   Earlier this month, activists said Kurdish fighters had driven out
   Islamic State fighters from Kobani after the jihadists took over
   several of the town's neighborhoods.

   Dozens of civilians were killed when Islamic State militants launched
   that counterattack on Kobani.

   Kurdish fighters, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, recaptured
   the contested town near the Turkish border early this year and have
   since been chipping away at Islamic State control in other border
   areas.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-blocks-twitter-in-response-to-
   suruc-attack/2873034.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-blocks-twitter-in-response-to-suruc-attack/2873034.html