Istanbul CNN –
Two terrorists carried out a bomb attack outside the Turkish Interior Ministry building in the Turkish capital Ankara on Sunday ahead of the opening of parliament, authorities said.
Two police officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement on X, previously known as Twitter.
The attackers arrived at the entrance to the building at around 9:30 a.m. local time (Yerlikaya) in a light commercial vehicle. One attacker blew himself up and the other was “neutralized.”
What appeared to be a watchtower in front of the building’s entrance was slightly damaged in the explosion. Police have since cordoned off the area, and video from the scene from CNN affiliate CNN Turk appeared to show a bomb squad searching the area for more suspicious packages.
A bomb found on the body of the neutralized terrorist was detonated in a controlled explosion after the attack, one of at least two heard on television footage.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation had been launched into the incident.
“These attacks will in no way hinder Turkey’s fight against terrorism,” Tunc said on X. “Our fight against terrorism will continue even more resolutely.”
The bombing occurred just hours before deputies were due to return to work after the summer break at 2 p.m
As of Sunday morning, no group had claimed responsibility.
Terrorist attacks in Turkey became tragically common in the mid-to-late 2010s, as insecurity from war-torn Syria spread northward beyond the two countries’ shared border.
In 2016, there were two attacks by Kurdish attackers in Ankara, one against military personnel on a bus and the other at a bus stop.
Two bomb attacks in 2015 at a peace rally near the capital’s main train station killed nearly 100 people.