Turkey suicide attack: Kurdistan Workers’ Party accepts responsibility for bombing in Ankara

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Sunday claimed responsibility for the suicide attack near the office of the Turkish Interior Ministry in Ankara, ANI reported citing Al Jazeera report.

A CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed a vehicle pulling up to the Interior Ministry’s main gate and one of its occupants quickly walking toward the building before being engulfed in an explosion, while the other remains on the street.

The blast killed one of the attackers and authorities “neutralised”, or killed, the other, the interior minister said of the incident that rattled a central district that is home to ministerial buildings and nearby parliament, reported Reuters.

“A sacrificial action was carried out against the Turkish Interior Ministry by a team from our Immortal Brigade”, the Al Jazeera reported, citing a statement the outfit sent to the ANF news agency.

The ANF News, which is close to the PKK militant group, described the bombing as a ‘suicide attack’ planned to coincide with the opening of parliament.

According to Turkey’s Interior minister, the explosion in front of the Interior Ministry left two police officers injured. Fortunately, their injuries are not life-threatening, the government informed.

Expressing solidarity with Turkey in its fight against terrorism, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg strongly condemned the attack in Ankara

“NATO stands in solidarity with Turkey in the fight against terrorism,” Stoltenberg said in a post on X, wishing injured police officers a fast and full recovery.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the incident in a speech to the Turkish parliament, asserting that “terrorists” will never achieve their objectives in Turkey.

Erdogan characterized the attack as the “last flutters of terrorism” and emphasised that terrorists attempting to disrupt peace and citizens’ security will not succeed, Al Jazeera reported.

“Today’s terrorist act in Ankara, in which two criminals were neutralised thanks to timely intervention of police, is last flutters of terrorism,” ANI quoted Erdogan statement in Al Jazeera.

“Terrorists trying to destroy peace and citizens’ security will never succeed,” he said

The Turkish president warned that it would be a formidable challenge to boost the morale of “terrorist” groups with political motivations.