Turks block access to Twitter over blast images

Turkey briefly blocked access to Twitter to prevent images of a devastating bomb attack in the country from being broadcast – and, according to reports, to stop calls for protests against the government.

A government official said Turkey had asked Twitter to remove 107 URLs with images of the aftermath of the bombing in Suruc, on the border with Syria, on Monday which killed 32 people and wounded scores more.

Twitter had removed about 50 of the URLs before it was blocked, but access was restored a few hours later.

The Turkish government official said access was restored after the company “removed malicious content, including hate speech, in line with the court order”.

A court in Suruc had earlier issued a ban on the publication of images related to the bombing in the media, including the internet and social media platforms.

Turkish officials had raised concerns that the bombing is a retaliation by the Islamic State group for the government’s crackdown on its operations in Turkey.

More than 500 people suspected of working with IS have been detained.

Meanwhile, authorities have confirmed that Monday’s attack was a suicide bombing and identified the bomber as Seyh Abdurrahman Alagoz, a Turkish national.