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| Kurdish militant group Tak claims responsibility for Ankara car bomb | Kurdish militant group Tak claims responsibility for Ankara car bomb |
| (7 months later) | |
| A Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for the bombing in the Turkish capital of Ankara that killed 28 people, according to a statement on its website. | A Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for the bombing in the Turkish capital of Ankara that killed 28 people, according to a statement on its website. |
| The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (Tak) said the bombing was in response to security operations in the predominantly Kurdish south-east, and that attacks would continue. | The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (Tak) said the bombing was in response to security operations in the predominantly Kurdish south-east, and that attacks would continue. |
| It said the bomber was Abdulbaki Sönmez, a 26-year-old Turkish national born in the eastern city of Van. | It said the bomber was Abdulbaki Sönmez, a 26-year-old Turkish national born in the eastern city of Van. |
| The claim contradicts the position taken by the Turkish government, who said on Thursday that the perpetrator had been identified as Saleh Necar, a 24-year-old Syrian national with ties to the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia that has been supported by the US in the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria. | The claim contradicts the position taken by the Turkish government, who said on Thursday that the perpetrator had been identified as Saleh Necar, a 24-year-old Syrian national with ties to the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia that has been supported by the US in the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria. |
| Tak was once linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers party (PKK). Some Turkish officials allege that Tak still acts as a militant front of the PKK, but Tak says the relationship has been severed. Both groups are considered terrorist organisations by Turkey, the US and the EU. | Tak was once linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers party (PKK). Some Turkish officials allege that Tak still acts as a militant front of the PKK, but Tak says the relationship has been severed. Both groups are considered terrorist organisations by Turkey, the US and the EU. |
| Tak has previously claimed responsibility for several assaults, including a mortar attack at Istanbul’s second airport in December that left an aircraft cleaner dead. In 2012 the group attacked a Turkish military bus and killed two soldiers and injured 12 people in a coastal resort town. Other notable attacks include the June 2010 bombing of a bus carrying military personnel in Istanbul that killed three people and a September 2011 explosion in central Ankara, where three people were killed and 34 others wounded. | Tak has previously claimed responsibility for several assaults, including a mortar attack at Istanbul’s second airport in December that left an aircraft cleaner dead. In 2012 the group attacked a Turkish military bus and killed two soldiers and injured 12 people in a coastal resort town. Other notable attacks include the June 2010 bombing of a bus carrying military personnel in Istanbul that killed three people and a September 2011 explosion in central Ankara, where three people were killed and 34 others wounded. |
| After the December mortar attack Tak threatened further assaults: “From now on the AKP [the ruling Justice and Development party] and its collaborators won’t be able to live in a fascist dictatorship so comfortably in their own city. As of now, we won’t be responsible for the safety of international airlines that fly to Turkey, or for foreign tourists,” they wrote in a statement on their website. | After the December mortar attack Tak threatened further assaults: “From now on the AKP [the ruling Justice and Development party] and its collaborators won’t be able to live in a fascist dictatorship so comfortably in their own city. As of now, we won’t be responsible for the safety of international airlines that fly to Turkey, or for foreign tourists,” they wrote in a statement on their website. |
| The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said on Friday that US-supplied weapons had been used against civilians by the YPG, and said he would raise the issue with Barack Obama on Friday. “I will tell him, ‘Look at how and where those weapons you provided were fired’,” he told reporters in Istanbul. | The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said on Friday that US-supplied weapons had been used against civilians by the YPG, and said he would raise the issue with Barack Obama on Friday. “I will tell him, ‘Look at how and where those weapons you provided were fired’,” he told reporters in Istanbul. |