Turkey has executed several airstrikes against Kurdish insurgents situated in northern Iraq, mere hours subsequent to a suicide explosion that struck the country’s interior ministry.
Officials report that 20 PKK rebel group targets were demolished, and numerous militants were “neutralized” in the operation.
The banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), regarded as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU, the UK, and the US, verified that the Sunday morning explosion in Ankara was executed by an affiliated group, whose member detonated himself in the attack.
According to Turkey’s defense ministry, the airstrikes were aimed at caves, storage depots, and bunkers utilized by the PKK, with the objective being “to neutralize the PKK and associated terrorist elements, thwart terrorist attacks from northern Iraq against our citizens and law enforcement, and secure our borders.”
Kurdish news agency Rudaw highlighted that the strikes were focused on Mount Qandil, located near the Iranian border and thought to be a PKK stronghold.
The airstrikes were orchestrated in the wake of a blast on Ankara’s Ataturk Boulevard, which occurred just hours before a parliamentary session was scheduled to resume post-summer recess.
Immortals Battalion, the group claiming responsibility for the attack, cited proximity to the parliamentary building as the rationale behind targeting the ministry.
The sequence of the attack, which started around 09:30 (06:30 GMT), involved one attacker tossing a minor explosive at the ministry edifice to divert security attention, while a second attacker engaged the ministry gate guards with gunfire before initiating a suicide bomb.
The initial attacker was swiftly neutralized by police upon entering the compound. The clash resulted in injuries to two officers, who are reported to be in stable condition according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
An unnamed senior Turkish security official informed the BBC that the attackers commandeered their vehicle on Saturday in Kayseri, situated approximately 260 km (161 miles) southeast of Ankara.
