The Turkish capital Ankara was subjected to a hazardous assault on Sunday when a suicide bomber activated an explosive device just hours before the parliamentary session was due to reconvene following a three-month hiatus.
Notably, a subsequent attacker was neutralized during an exchange of fire with law enforcement, according to the Interior Minister.
Two police officials sustained minor injuries in the vicinity of the Ministry of Interior Affairs entrance, as per Minister Ali Yerlikaya’s statement on X, the platform previously recognized as Twitter.
The bombing took place amid preparations for the reopening of parliament, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was scheduled to deliver a speech.
Immediate information regarding the attackers was scarce, but it’s vital to note that both Kurdish and far-left militants, as well as the Islamic State (IS) group, have historically executed fatal attacks across Turkey.
Yerlikaya disclosed that the assailants accessed the location using a light commercial vehicle. TV visuals depicted bomb squads conducting operations close to an automobile parked nearby, amidst the Turkish Grand National Assembly and additional governmental edifices, with a rocket launcher visibly discarded adjacent to the vehicle.
“One of the terrorists blew himself up and the other terrorist was neutralized,” Yerlikaya said. He added that two police officers were “slightly injured” in the fire caused by the blast.
Law enforcement established a perimeter, restricting entry to the city center, and the injured officers were hospitalized, albeit with non-critical conditions, according to media sources.
Egypt, which has normalized ties with Turkey after a decade of tensions, condemned the attack. A terse statement from the Foreign Ministry offered Egypt’s solidarity with Turkey.
The U.S. Embassy in Ankara also condemned the attack, saying it stands in solidarity with Turkey.
