Suicide bomber blows himself up near Turkish parliament: Explosion and gun fire rock Ankara with one attacker dead and another arrested
- Two assailants have died following an attack in Turkey’s capital, Ankara
- Two police officers have been hospitalised due to the suicide bombing
- No groups have yet claimed responsibility for the attack
A suicide bomber has detonated an explosive device near Turkey’s parliament in a terrorist attack, the country’s interior minister said.
Minister Ali Yerlikaya, 54, added that a second assailant was killed in a shootout with police officers on Sunday, two of whom were injured during the attack in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.
The two assailants reportedly arrived at the Office of the Interior Ministry, just north of Ankara’s main parliamentary building, in a light commercial vehicle.
Reports of a loud explosion in the Kizilay area, in the heart of the city, at around 9:30 am local time were followed by reports of gunfire.
Security forces have since set up barriers in the area, while TV footage showed bomb squads working near a parked vehicle in the area, located near the Turkish Grand National Assembly and other government buildings.
Turkey has suffered a series of terrorist attacks in recent years
At least one armoured vehicle was seen in the area
A weapon that appears to be a spent rocket launcher was seen on the road outside the Interior Ministry building
Police have cordoned off the south side of the Interior Ministry building
Turkish police have cordoned off the south side of the Interior Ministry building, while the road to the east of the building has been shut down.
A rocket launcher was seen lying on the road outside the Interior Ministry building, just next to the vehicle believed to have been used by the assailants.
Soldiers, as well as emergency services, are currently posted outside the government building.
Armed soldiers were also seen on top of nearby buildings.
The attack occurred hours before Turkey’s parliament was due to reopen following a three-month summer recess with a speech by the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Lawmakers were expected to be in the building at 2pm today.
The rocket launcher was seen near the vehicle believed to have been used by the assailants
Bomb squads were seen working on the car that is believed to have been used by the assailants
Turkish police have cordoned off the south side of the Interior Ministry building
Armed soldiers were seen on the roofs of nearby buildings
Turkish bomb squads were seen in the area shortly after reports of the explosion came in
Armed soldiers were seen outside the Interior Ministry building
No group has yet come forward and claimed responsibility for the attack
It is not currently known whether the attack claimed any lives or caused any more injuries.
Turkey’s interior minister said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, about the incident: ‘Our struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralised.’
Ankara’s chief prosecutor has launched an investigation into what it also called a terrorist attack.
No group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, though Kurdish and far-left militant groups, as well as ISIS, have carried out deadly attacks in Turkey in the recent past.
The most recent bomb attack in Turkey was in a shopping street in Istanbul in November 2022, where six were killed and 81 were injured.
There was no claim of responsibility, but Turkey accused the outlawed PKK group of being behind the attack and said it had detained 46 people including a Syrian woman suspected of planting the device.
The bombing took place in the popular shopping street of Istiklal Avenue on a Sunday afternoon.
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