Turkish Warplanes Strike Kurdish Militant Targets in Northern Iraq following Suicide Attack in Ankara
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq on Sunday in response to a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital, Turkey’s defense ministry announced. The airstrikes targeted 20 locations used by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), including caves, shelters, and depots. The ministry stated that a significant number of PKK operatives were neutralized in the strikes.
Earlier on Sunday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near an entrance to the Interior Ministry, injuring two police officers. A second assailant was killed during a shootout with the police. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred just hours before the reopening of Turkey’s Parliament after its three-month summer recess.
The two attackers arrived at the scene in a light commercial vehicle, which they had seized from a veterinarian in the central province of Kayseri. Reports suggest they shot the veterinarian in the head and disposed of his body before continuing their journey to Ankara, where they carried out the attack.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya praised the heroic actions of the police officers who confronted the terrorists. He stated, “Our fight against terrorism, their collaborators, the (drug) dealers, gangs, and organized crime organizations will continue with determination.”
Plastic explosives, hand grenades, and a rocket launcher were recovered from the scene of the attack. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attack and reiterated his government’s determination to create a 30-kilometer safe zone along Turkey’s border with Syria to enhance security.
Turkey has conducted multiple offensives against the PKK in northern Iraq and has also launched incursions into northern Syria to eliminate the Islamic State group and the Kurdish militia group, known as the YPG. Turkey considers the YPG to be an extension of the PKK and views both organizations as terrorist groups.
Last year, a bomb blast in Istanbul that killed six people was blamed on the PKK and the YPG. In response to Sunday’s attack, Turkish authorities imposed a temporary blackout on images from the scene and increased security measures in the city center.
Egypt, which has recently normalized ties with Turkey, condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the country. The U.S. Embassy in Ankara and other foreign missions also issued statements condemning the attack.
In his address to Parliament, President Erdogan labeled the attack as the “last stand of terrorism” and provided no indication as to when Turkey’s parliament may ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO. Sweden’s membership has been blocked by Turkey, who accuses the country of not doing enough to combat groups like the PKK operating on its soil.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned the terrorist attack and reiterated their commitment to cooperating with Turkey in the fight against terrorism.
The investigation into the attack is ongoing, and Turkish authorities have increased security measures, including controlled explosions of suspicious packages.