Turkey: Turkey has said that it has carried out a number of air strikes on Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq, hours after a suicide blast occurred near the interior ministry. The government said 20 targets were destroyed and many militants from the banned PKK rebel group were “neutralised”.
On Sunday, the PKK said that the bombing in the capital, Ankara, was carried out by a group linked to them. A member of the group blew himself up, as reported by the BBC. A second attacker was killed by police, and two police officers sustained injuries. According to Turkey’s defence ministry, Sunday’s air strikes targeted caves, depots, and bunkers used by the PKK.
The operation was “to neutralise the PKK and other terrorist elements, prevent terrorist attacks from northern Iraq against our population and our law enforcement agencies, and ensure the security of our borders,” AFP quoted the ministry as saying. The Kurdish news agency Rudaw said the strikes targeted Mount Qandil near the Iranian border. They were carried out following an explosion on Ankara’s Ataturk Boulevard. The development comes on a day when the Turkish Parliament was scheduled to reopen following a summer recess. Immortals Battalion—the group that claimed responsibility, as reported by the BBC
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on X that a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at around 9:30 am local time near the Interior Ministry. However, the interior minister did not say who was responsible for the blast. In the past, the country has witnessed deadly attacks by Kurdish and far-left militant groups as well as the Islamic State group.
According to an AP report, the television footage showed bomb squad working near a parked vehicle in the area which is located near the Turkish Grand National Assembly and other government buildings. The access to the city centre has been cordoned off by the police, the report added.
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