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PKK claims bomb attack in Turkey’s capital that injured 2 police officers

The attack happened just as the parliament returned from recess and was expected to take on Sweden’s NATO bid.

Police presence after the attack in Ankara, Turkey.
Police officers are seen at the police headquarters where a suicide bomber blew himself up, Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 1, 2023. — Twitter/X

ANKARA — A suicide attacker blew himself up Sunday outside Turkey’s police headquarters, wounding two police officers in Ankara, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

A second assailant was “neutralized” in what Turkish authorities have called a terrorist attack. Hours after the explosion, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) — a militant group that has been waging an armed campaign against the Turkish state since 1984 — claimed responsibility for the attack. 

In a statement carried by the PKK-linked Firat news agency, the militant group said the location of the attack and its timing are aimed to send a “warning” signal to the Turkish government over its ongoing military operations against the group in Syria and Iraq. 

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. 

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