Title: Turkey Launches Air Strikes and Detains Suspects in Response to Ankara Bomb Attack
Date: October 2, 2023
In a swift response to the bomb attack in the Turkish capital Ankara, the Turkish government unleashed air strikes on militant targets in northern Iraq and detained suspects in Istanbul overnight. The attack, claimed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, targeted government buildings in Ankara and left two attackers dead, along with two police officers wounded.
The Turkish defense ministry reported that the air strikes destroyed 20 militant targets, including caves, shelters, and depots used by the PKK in Iraq’s Metina, Hakurk, Qandil, and Gara regions. Turkey has been conducting military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq over the past few years.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has been involved in an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984, resulting in the deaths of over 40,000 people. Sunday’s attack in Ankara marked the first such incident in the capital since 2016, when multiple attacks occurred across Turkish cities, claimed by Kurdish militants, Islamic State, and other groups.
CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed a vehicle pulling up outside the interior ministry’s main gate in Ankara, with one of its occupants quickly walking towards the building before being engulfed in an explosion. The bomb killed one attacker, while the security forces shot and killed the other. The district affected by the attack houses ministries and the parliament.
The Turkish police conducted raids targeting suspects linked to the PKK in Istanbul and other locations, resulting in the detention of 20 individuals. Among those detained were a provincial Kurdish spokesman and district heads of a major pro-Kurdish political party. It is suspected that they were involved in collecting aid and providing shelter for PKK members.
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan, addressing parliament on Sunday, stated that Turkey would maintain its strategy of a 30-kilometer (19-mile) deep “security strip” beyond the southern borders with Syria and Iraq. The president also hinted at the possibility of “new steps” regarding this strategy in the future.
While there are speculations about whether Erdogan’s comments indicate plans for a new large-scale cross-border operation into Syria, Defense Minister Yasar Guler clarified that the president did not reveal anything new in his remarks.
The Turkish government remains committed to taking decisive action against militant groups, including the PKK, to ensure the safety and security of its citizens.
[Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever in Ankara; editing by Robert Birsel, Jonathan Spicer, and Mark Heinrich]