Türkiye marks 10 years since deadly ISIL attack in capital Ankara

ANKARA

Hundreds gathered at Ankara’s main train station on Oct. 10 to commemorate the victims of Türkiye’s deadliest terrorist attack in terms of civilian casualties, a decade after the ISIL assault.

On Oct. 10, 2015, Türkiye was shaken by a terrorist attack targeting the crowd assembled in front of Ankara Station for the “Labour, Peace and Democracy Rally” that had drawn hundreds of participants from various provinces.

Carried out by two ISIL suicide bombers, the attack claimed the lives of 101 civilians and injured 379 others.

A three-day national mourning period was declared and the unions and professional associations that organized the rally called for a strike. The incident was the deadliest terrorist attack in Turkish history in terms of civilian deaths.

The Oct. 10 commemoration march was attended by Tuncer Bakırhan, co-chair of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), representatives of civil society organizations and citizens.

Starting from the Ulus metro station, participants first marched to Ankara Station and then to the Ankara Courthouse.

Following the march, Bakırhan emphasized that those responsible have yet to face proper justice and called for accountability.

He noted that the DEM Party has repeatedly submitted parliamentary questions and motions to establish an investigative committee, stating, “We will continue to fight to ensure that such massacres never happen again on Turkish soil.”

The Oct. 10 Peace Association, representing the families of the victims and survivors, also reiterated their call for justice.

At the time of the attack, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a case against 35 individuals, including İlhami Balı, identified as the “planner of ISIL attacks in Türkiye.”

According to the indictment, the suicide bombers were Yunus Emre Alagöz, born in 1990, and an unidentified Syrian national. They arrived in Ankara from the southeastern province of Gaziantep.

The trial concerning the attack concluded on July 1, 2024. An Ankara court sentenced 10 defendants in custody to aggravated life imprisonment. Among the 26 remaining defendants, 16 suspected ISIL members remain at large.