The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Sunday that injured two people.
“A sacrificial action was carried out against the Turkish Interior Ministry by a team from our Immortal Brigade,” the PKK told the ANF news agency, which is close to the Kurdish movement.
On the other hand, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that the “terrorists” will never achieve their aims, a few hours after an attack near the country’s parliament in Ankara.
“The villains who threaten the peace and security of citizens have not achieved their objectives and will never achieve them,” he said after two police officers were injured in the attack.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country “no longer expects anything from the European Union, which has kept us waiting at its door for 40 years”.
“We have kept all the promises we have made to the EU but they have kept almost none of theirs,” he said before an inaugural session of parliament, adding that he would not “tolerate any new demands or conditions on the accession process” for his country to join the bloc.
Earlier today, a “terrorist attack” took place near Turkey’s parliament in Ankara leaving two police officers injured, the interior ministry said.
The powerful explosion, which was followed by large flames, was heard for several kilometers from the site of the attack.
The ministry said two attackers arrived in a commercial vehicle around 9:30 am (0630 GMT) “in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of the Interior, and carried out a bomb attack.”
“One of the terrorists blew himself up and the other was neutralized,” the ministry added on social media, saying two officers received “minor injuries”.
The targeted district is home to several other ministries and the Turkish parliament, which was due to reopen today with an address from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to Turkish media.
Media said the president was due to speak to deputies during the day’s session.
TV channel NTV reported gunfire in the cordoned-off area after the explosion, where many police vehicles and ambulances were seen.
The Ankara police headquarters said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was carrying out “controlled explosions” of “suspicious packages” to prevent other explosions.
The Ankara prosecutor’s office said it was opening an investigation and banned access to the area. Local media was asked to stop broadcasting images from the scene of the attack.
