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Reports: Syrian man behind deadly Ankara car bomb attack Reports: Syrian man behind deadly Ankara car bomb attack
(35 minutes later)
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish media reports say a Syrian national was behind the attack in Ankara that killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens of others. ANKARA, Turkey — A Syrian national who had registered as a refugee in Turkey carried out the attack in Ankara that killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens of others, Turkish media reports said Thursday.
Yeni Safak, a newspaper close to the government, said Thursday that the man who detonated the car bomb Wednesday that targeted buses carrying military personnel was identified from his fingerprints. It said he had been registered as a refugee in Turkey. Turkey’s military meanwhile, said its jets conducted cross-border raids against Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq, hours after the deadly attack, striking at a group of about 60-70 rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
Pro-government Sabah newspaper said the man was linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The car bomb went off late Wednesday in Turkey’s capital during evening rush hour. It exploded near buses carrying military personnel that had stopped at traffic lights, in an area close to parliament and armed forces headquarters and lodgings. The blast was the second deadly bomb attack in Ankara in four months.
A government official couldn’t confirm the reports. Yeni Safak, a newspaper close to the government, said the assailant who detonated the car bomb near the military buses in an apparent suicide attack had been registered as a refugee in Turkey and was identified from his fingerprints.
The explosion occurred during evening rush hour in the heart of Ankara, in an area close to parliament and armed forces headquarters and lodgings. Pro-government Sabah newspaper said the man was linked to the PKK, which has been fighting for autonomy for Kurds in Turkey’s southeast region.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility although suspicion fell on the PKK and the Islamic State group. Neither report cited a source and a government official couldn’t confirm the reports.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack which killed military personnel and civilians, although suspicion fell on the PKK and the Islamic State group. In October, suicide bombings blamed on IS targeted a peace rally outside the main train station in Ankara, killing 102 people in Turkey’s deadliest attack in years.
The attack drew international condemnation and Turkish leaders have vowed to find those responsible and to retaliate against them with force.
The military said Thursday that Turkish jets attacked PKK positions in northern Iraq’s Haftanin region, hitting the group of rebels which it said included a number of senior PKK leaders. The claim could not be verified.
Turkey’s air force has been striking PKK positions in northern Iraq since a fragile two-and-a-half year-old peace process with the group collapsed in July, reigniting a fierce three-decade old conflict.
“Our determination to retaliate to attacks that aim against our unity, togetherness and future grows stronger with every action,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday. “It must be known that Turkey will not refrain from using its right to self-defense at all times.”
The attack came at a tense time when the Turkish government is facing an array of challenges. Hundreds of people have been killed in renewed fighting following the collapse of the peace process and tens of thousands have been displaced.
Turkey has also been helping efforts led by the U.S. to combat the Islamic State group in neighboring Syria, and has faced several deadly bombings in the last year that were blamed on IS.
The Syrian war is raging along Turkey’s southern border. Recent airstrikes by Russian and Syrian forces have prompted tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to flee to Turkey’s border.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.