Death toll in Ankara attack rises to 102: Prosecutors

The death toll from the double suicide bombing in Ankara last weekend now stands at 102, prosecutors in the capital said on Friday, raising the previous official toll of 99 people.

"With one more citizen who lost his life (on Friday), the death toll in the incident has been confirmed as 102," the chief prosecutor's office said in a statement. A total of 13 people have been detained in relation to the attack, it added.

Three top Turkish police officials were sacked on Wednesday over the weekend's twin blasts in Ankara, as the under-fire president paid homage to those killed in the country's bloodiest attacks.

The Turkish interior ministry said the officials fired included the head of police for the greater Ankara area, as well as his intelligence and public security chiefs, amid accusations of security lapses.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan laid a wreath in front of the city's railway station where two suicide bombers blew themselves up on Saturday in a crowd of leftist and pro-Kurdish activists attending a peace rally.

The government has said the Islamic State (IS) is the prime suspect behind the attack, which also injured more than 500.

The weekend bombings have raised political tensions to new highs as Turkey prepares for a 1 November snap election, with polarisation within the country now greater than ever.

Erdogan has admitted there were security shortcomings but said their magnitude would only be made clear once all the details are available.

Special investigation

He said the Ankara attack culprits will be brought to justice but warned "some patience is needed" as DNA tests are carried out on the remains of the two suicide bombers.

"There must undoubtedly be a mistake, a shortcoming in some place. Of what dimension? This will emerge after examinations," Erdogan said on Tuesday.

"If there's any negligence of duty, then both the prime minister and related units will take steps needed. Nobody should doubt it," he added.

Erdogan announced that he ordered the State Supervisory Council (DDK), an inspection body attached to the Turkish presidency, to undertake a special investigation "to handle (the attack) from a different perspective".

Its probe will be held in parallel with the regular police and judicial investigation. The DDK has in the past probed state-sensitive issues like the death in 1993 of former president Turgut Ozal, which many regard as suspicious.

There have been growing indications that the authorities are focusing on possible parallels or links to a 20 July suicide bombing at a peace rally in Suruc on the Syrian border that killed 34.