Daesh ‘sleeper cells’ lying in wait in central Kobani were involved in Thursday morning’s attack targeting Kurdish forces in Syria, Turkish security sources have said.
At least 17 people were killed and 96 others wounded as Daesh militants mounted an early-morning attack in Kobani with two bomb-laden vehicles amid renewed fighting between Syrian Kurdish forces and the Sunni extremist group.
The sources told Anadolu Agency that the death toll is actually over the official figure but it is impossible to get reliable information for now as clashes are still continuing in Kobani.
Turkish authorities’ have strongly rejected claims made by Syrian state television and by some Kurdish politicians that Daesh militants crossed through Turkish territory to strike Kobani.
"The claims that the Daesh militants who mounted the suicide attack had entered the region from Turkey does not reflect reality," according to a statement from Sanliurfa Governorate on Thursday.
Calling the claims “baseless”, the statement said that Daesh militants infiltrated Kobani from Syria's Jarablus city at around 5 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) and staged the car-bomb suicide attack.
"We will share the images [of evidence] as soon as possible with the public," said the governor's office, calling for common sense from the Turkish public "as there might be people who want to provoke the sensitive situation in the region".
During remarks to the press in Ankara, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus called the allegations black propaganda and argued that "certain dirty circles" are trying to turn Turkey into a target on the pretext of the attack in Kobani.
"As they always did, they are trying to make Turkey the subject of a smear campaign," he said.
Meanwhile, during another attack on Kobani's district center, Daesh seized buildings called the 'quadruple security belt' which were used by Syrian-Kurdish forces as headquarters.
Fierce clashes are also reported to have intensified around the buildings.
According to a statement released by the anti-Bashar-al-Assad Syrian Revolution Coordinators' Union (SRCU), Daesh militants mounted the attack with two bomb-laden vehicles while disguised as Kurdish fighters.
The morning bomb blast occurred near Turkey's Mursitpinar border crossing in the Suruc district of southeastern Sanliurfa province in the early hours of Thursday.
In the past few weeks, Turkey has been witnessing another massive inflow of Syrian refugees from the city of Tal Abyad and nearby areas, as they flee clashes between Daesh and the Syrian-Kurdish YPG, the military wing of the Syrian Democratic Union Party, or PYD, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization.
On Monday, the YPG and opposition groups -- operating under the name of Burkan al-Firat -- took the northern Syrian village of Ali Bajiliyah near Raqqa -- considered a Daesh stronghold -- according to eyewitnesses.
A U.S.-led international coalition has been providing support to the YPG.
YPG forces, working in tandem with Burkan al-Firat, recently seized control of Tal Abyad, after which the YPG reportedly forced other opposition factions to leave the city.
