Eurasia Press & News
The attack happened just as the parliament returned from recess and was expected to take on Sweden’s NATO bid.
A suicide attacker blew himself up Sunday outside Turkey’s police headquarters, wounding two police officers in Ankara, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
A second assailant was “neutralized” in what Turkish authorities have called a terrorist attack. Hours after the explosion, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) — a militant group that has been waging an armed campaign against the Turkish state since 1984 — claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a statement carried by the PKK-linked Firat news agency, the militant group said the location of the attack and its timing are aimed to send a “warning” signal to the Turkish government over its ongoing military operations against the group in Syria and Iraq.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
The attack came only hours before the Turkish parliament was due to reconvene for the first time after summer recess. The parliament is located nearly 300 meters (0.2 miles) from the police headquarters, where the attack took place.
Later on Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan still went as planned to the parliament to address the assembly. Addressing parliamentarians, Erdogan described the attack as the last struggle of terrorism. “We will continue our fight, both inside and outside, until the last terrorist is eliminated,” he said.
The legislators are expected to take on Sweden’s membership in NATO soon, as Erdogan pledged in July that he would send the accession protocol to the parliament after the recess.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg condemned the attack. “NATO stands in solidarity with [Turkey] in the fight against terrorism,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ankara police said it was carrying out “monitored detonations” of “suspicious packages” to avert further potential explosions. The blast was the first such attack in the Turkish capital since 2016.
Yerlikaya vowed to continue “our struggle until the last terrorist is neutralized.” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan appeared to suggest that the attack may have been orchestrated outside Turkey’s borders. “Our struggle against terror will continue inside and outside the homeland,” Fidan said via the X platform.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said a large-scale investigation was launched over the attack. Authorities also issued a broadcast ban on the videos of the attack.
In televised remarks later Sunday, Yerlikaya called on social media users who shared footage of the attack to delete them. The videos shared on social media showed the assailants driving up to the police headquarters in a commercial vehicle.
Erdogan’s top foreign policy adviser, Akif Cagatay Kilic, condemned the attack. “I wish a speedy recovery to our injured heroic police officers. Terrorist attacks will never achieve their goals. Our effective fight against all forms of terrorism will continue with resolve,” he said.
Government officials and main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu echoed the message, condemning the attack.
The US Embassy in Ankara issued a security alert after the attack, calling on its citizens in Ankara to avoid the area where the incident took place.
“We strongly condemn the terrorist attack this morning against [Turkey], our NATO ally. We offer our condolences to those injured and wish them a speedy recovery. We stand in solidarity with [Turkey] against terrorism,” the embassy said.
