Thousands of mourners bowed their heads in prayer July 28 at funerals for some of the 17 people killed in twin bomb blasts in a crowded Istanbul square, an attack that Turkish officials blamed on Kurdish rebels.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan served as a pallbearer as the crowd surged around 10 coffins draped in the red and white Turkish flag.

Erdogan said the July 27 bombings appeared to be payback for the Turkish military's air raids on rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, strongholds in northern Iraq. Some analysts agreed, even though rebels denied involvement and an investigation was ongoing.