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Three senior Turkish security officials sacked after Ankara bombings

Three top Turkish security officials are dismissed following the recent twin blasts in Ankara.

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Turkish police forces secure the site of twin explosions near the main train station in the capital, Ankara, October 10, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

Three top security officials in the Turkish capital, Ankara, have been dismissed in the wake of the recent twin bomb blasts that rocked the city.

The Turkish Interior Ministry said in a late Tuesday statement that Ankara police chief Kadri Kartal and the heads of the security and intelligence departments were fired as the government tries to conduct an investigation into the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country’s recent history.

According to the statement, Ahmet Hakan Arikan was appointed Ankara’s new police chief.

The October 10 explosions targeted a number of activists who had convened outside Ankara’s main train station for a peace rally organized by leftist and pro-Kurdish opposition groups. The Turkish government says 97 died in the bombings, but the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) puts the death toll at 128.

Police stand near the bodies of victims covered in flags and banners following twin explosions during a peace rally in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, October 10, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the explosions, the government has pointed to the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group as the prime suspect behind the blasts, which also injured more than 500 others.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday that two bombers, each of whom using some five kilograms of TNT explosives, carried out the attacks by detonating their explosive belts.

The bombings have escalated political tensions as Turkey prepares for snap elections on November 1.