The interior minister condemned a “terrorist attack” after a loud explosion occurred near the Turkish parliament on Sunday morning. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party claimed so.
A loud explosion occurred this Sunday morning in the Turkish capital Ankara, near the parliament, which is scheduled to open its new working session later in the day, the AFP correspondent reported.
According to Turkish media, there were also exchanges of fire in the parliamentary district, where many ministries are located. According to the private television station NTV, numerous police vehicles and ambulances were deployed in the area and the district was completely cordoned off.
Police and fire brigade mobilize after an explosion near the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, October 1, 2023 – Adem ALTAN / AFP
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya says that two police officers injured by the flames of the explosion have been identified, according to an initial, still preliminary assessment.
A “terrorist attack,” according to the Interior Ministry
The Interior Minister denounced a “terrorist attack” on X (formerly Twitter).
“At around 9:30 a.m., two terrorists who presented themselves in a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Interior Ministry carried out a bomb attack,” he says.
He states that one of them “blew himself up” and that “the other terrorist was neutralized.”
Later in the day, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group considered terrorist by Turkey and Western countries, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack. “A team dependent on our Brigade of Immortals carried out a sacrificial operation against the Turkish Interior Ministry,” the armed group told ANF news agency, which is close to the Kurdish movement.