PKK claims responsibility for Ankara bombing

In the Turkish capital Ankara, a man blew himself up near the Turkish Interior Ministry. Two policemen were injured. Another man was shot dead by Turkish police. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which seeks more autonomy and rights for Kurds, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Security footage shows the vehicle stopping just outside the ministry gate and two men getting out. One of them then walks towards a security guard’s booth, after which an explosion can be seen. It appears that the man left by the car fired a grenade launcher towards the booth. The government district was crowded due to a ceremony in parliament to mark the end of the summer recess. Extra security had been put in place. President Erdogan was also present at the reopening of parliament.

The People’s Defense Center Headquarters Command (HSM), which is linked to the PKK, said in its statement that the action in Ankara was carried out by the ‘Brigade of Immortals’. The statement continued: “This action is an act of legitimate defense against the disregard of human rights that are being trampled on against national and international laws; against the inhuman practice and policy of isolation that is being implemented in all prisons in Turkey and Kurdistan; against the use of chemical weapons against our guerrilla forces despite the universal validity of the Chemical Weapons Convention; against the plundering of our nature and the ecocide in Kurdistan; against the oppression of the Kurdish people and all democratic circles. If the AKP/MHP regime does not stop its genocidal and fascist-motivated crimes, legitimate actions in the sense of revolutionary justice will continue.”

The Turkish air force has carried out air strikes against PKK positions in northern Iraq. The air strikes were carried out in response to the attack in Ankara on Sunday morning.