Cluster bombs used in attack filled with thousands of ball bearings

2015-06-06 09:57:29

DİYARBAKIR (DİHA) - Teams analyzing the scene of yesterday's bomb attack in Diyarbakır say the cluster bombs used in the attack were filled with thousands of ball bearings.

Yesterday, two bombs exploded at a massive rally for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). After the attack, a delegation of lawyers from human rights and legal NGOs, the HDP and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) observed the four-hour investigation by the Crime Scene Investigation team.

According to the legal observers, cluster bombs filled with thousands of ball bearings were used in the attacks. The first explosion came from a bomb placed in a trashcan. The second had been hidden under a tea-selling cart parked in front of an electric transformer.

Because the bombs were placed low to the ground, many of the wounded had wounds primarily in their feet and legs. If the bombs had been placed further from the ground, much more serious injuries would have been possible, according to observers. The bomb devices consisted of camping-size natural gas canisters filled with thousands of ball bearings. Investigators say they have found fingerprints on the canisters and a destroyed cell phone that may have been used in the bombing.

It was on the request of the legal team that investigators collected the security camera footage from the surrounding workplaces and apartment buildings. Police claimed to lawyers that decorative flags may have covered the field of view of security cameras, making the footage possibly useless. Police have also met with municipal officials to request footage from municipal cameras located in the street.

(cm/nt)