After the summer break, political activity was supposed to resume in Ankara today. But in the morning an explosion in front of the Interior Ministry shook the Turkish capital.
The two attackers were killed in an attack in the heart of the Turkish capital Ankara. The Interior Ministry spoke of two “terrorists,” one of whom blew himself up in front of an entrance to the ministry.
The second person involved was “neutralized”. Two police officers were slightly injured in an exchange of fire. According to government sources, Turkish police prevented a second explosion.
Erdogan should also come to the opening meeting
According to media reports, the explosion also occurred not far from an entrance to the Turkish parliament. The people’s representatives wanted to come out of the summer break today as planned. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also scheduled to take part in the opening meeting in the early afternoon.
Erdogan described the attack as the “final throes of terror.” The “villains” have not achieved their goals and will never achieve them, the Turkish head of state said in parliament in Ankara, according to the state news agency Anadolu.
The NTV broadcaster reported that parliament was being searched for explosives by security forces. It was initially unclear who was behind the attack. Nothing was initially known about the identity of the attackers.
Public prosecutor imposes news blackout
Turkish media reported on the exact course of the attack that the two attackers drove in front of the Interior Ministry in a Renault Kangoo around 9:30 a.m. local time (8:30 a.m. CEST). Armed with rifles, they tried to get past the guards into the ministry, but failed. One of the two then blew himself up. The public prosecutor’s office imposed a news blackout on the issue this morning, the justice minister announced.
There have been repeated attacks in Turkey in the past. In November 2022, a bomb exploded on Istanbul’s Istiklal shopping street, killing six people. According to the Turkish government, the attacker had connections to the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG, which the Turkish government sees as an offshoot of the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK. The YPG denied being behind the attack. In 2016, twelve Germans were killed in a suicide attack by the Islamic State terrorist militia in the historic center of Istanbul.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
