Suspect identified over Turkey suicide bomb attack

A suspected suicide bomber who killed at least 32 people in the Turkish town of Suruc is believed to have "clear" links to Islamic State, the country's Prime Minister has said.

Ahmet Davutoglu said checks were being done for any domestic or international terror links after the suspect had been identified.

The blast tore through a group of university-aged activist group as they gathered in the town, which stands on the border of Syria.

The activists had been planning a trip to help rebuild nearby Kobani, which was devastated during fighting with Islamic State over the last year.

The self-proclaimed Islamic State is believed to be behind a suicide bombing in southern Turkey which has left around 30 people dead.

The victims, mostly students, had gathered just six miles from the border with Syria to announce a plan to help rebuild the city of Kobani.

Video footage has now emerged which appears to show the moment the bomber struck, and the devastating aftermath, where newspapers were placed to protect the bodies of those killed.

ITV News Middle East correspondent Geraint Vincent reports:

The White House has condemned what it called a "heinous terror attack" in Turkey which left 30 people dead.

The victims, mostly young students, had gathered in the mostly-Kurdish town of Suruc to announce plans to help rebuild the city of Kobani, Syria.

Turkey has drawn up urgent measures to increase security along its fraught border with Syria, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has announced.

It comes after a suspected Islamic State suicide bomber killed 30 people - many of them student activists - in the border town of Suruc.

The death toll of a suspected suicide bombing near the Turkish border with Syria has risen to 30, officials have confirmed.

The victims, mainly young students, had gathered in the town of Suruc to make a statement to the local media regarding a trip they were planning to help rebuild the ravaged city of Kobani, Syria.

The ruins of the city, populated heavily by Syrian Kurds and lying just south of the border with Turkey, have become a symbol of Kurdish resistance after becoming the extremist group's biggest defeat last year since seizing control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the bombing was "clearly a terrorist attack", and said evidence suggests that Islamic State militants were responsible.

One official suggested it was a "retaliation for the Turkish government's efforts to fight terrorism".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned today's terror attack near the Syrian border, which is thought to have left 27 people dead and around 100 injured.

Warning: Some viewers may find the above footage upsetting.

A video has emerged showing the immediate aftermath of the Turkey bombing, which officials believe was an IS suicide attack.

People can be heard running and shouting following the explosion, which is thought to have left 27 people dead.

The explosion in Suruc was a suicide bombing carried out by Islamic State, evidence suggests, according to two senior Turkish officials.

The first pictures from the scene of the explosion in Suruc show emergency services outside the cultural centre.

Several ambulances can be seen as crowds gather nearby.

The Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement: "We call on everyone to stand together and remain calm in the face of this terrorist attack which targets the unity of our country."

The explosion in Turkey near the country's border with Syria was a terrorist attack, the country's interior ministry has said.

Pervin Buldan, a senior lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish HDP opposition party, said local officials were investigating the possibility it was a suicide bombing.

She said the blast happened as Turkish and Kurdish youths gathered at the cultural centre ahead of a planned trip to the town of Kobani in Syria.