Turkey conducts airstrikes, destroys 20 PKK objects in northern Iraq

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Oct 2023 23:38
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Yeni Safak cites the Interior Ministry as saying that one of the Ankara attackers had been identified as a PKK member.

Members of Turkish Police Special Forces secure the area near the Interior Ministry following a bomb attack in Ankara, on October 1, 2023 (AFP)

The Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed on Sunday that its forces carried out airstrikes in northern Iraq and destroyed 20 targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) following a suicide attack that rocked Ankara earlier.

"Air strikes have been conducted against objects of terrorists in the areas of Metina, Hakurk. Kandil and Gara. As many as 20 objects of terrorists have been destroyed, a large number of terrorists have been killed," the Ministry said in a statement.

The PKK, listed as a "terror group" by Turkey and its Western allies, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that injured two police officers.

The Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak also cited the Interior Ministry as saying that one of the attackers had been identified as a PKK member.

"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 party.

Hours after the blast, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said "terrorists" will never achieve their aims.

The powerful explosion outside the Interior Ministry, which was followed by large flames, was heard several kilometers away from the site of the attack.

The targeted district is home to several other ministries and the Turkish parliament, which reopened as planned in the afternoon with an address from Erdogan.

"The villains who threaten the peace and security of citizens have not achieved their objectives and will never achieve them," Erdogan told the parliament.

The Turkish Interior 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. The other was killed by a bullet to the head before he had a chance to blow himself up," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya explained in a press statement outside the Ministry.

The #Turkish government announced that a bomb attack was executed by two terrorists in front of the Interior Ministry buildings in #Ankara.#Turkey pic.twitter.com/SjVUIa2f6C
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 1, 2023

"Two of our police officers were lightly injured" in the exchange of fire, but their lives were not in danger, he added.

The Ankara police headquarters said on social media platform X 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 were asked to stop broadcasting images from the scene of the attack.

It is noteworthy that the Turkish capital has been the scene of several attacks, particularly during the years 2015 and 2016 -- many claimed by the PKK or ISIS.

In October 2015, an attack in front of a central station in Ankara claimed by ISIS resulted in 109 deaths.

The most recent bomb attack in Turkey targeted a shopping street in Istanbul in November 2022, claiming the lives of six people and injuring 81 others. There was no claim of responsibility, but Turkey accused the PKK of being behind the attack and said it had detained 46 people, including a Syrian woman suspected of planting the device.