A suicide bomber triggered an explosive device in the heart of Ankara, the capital of Turkey, while a second assailant engaged in a shootout with the police on Sunday, as reported by the interior minister.

This incident occurred just hours before the reopening of Turkey’s Parliament, following a three-month summer recess, during which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was scheduled to deliver an address.

According to Minister Ali Yerlikaya’s statement on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, two police officers sustained minor injuries in the bombing, which took place near the entrance to the Ministry of Interior Affairs.

Yerlikaya mentioned that the attackers arrived at the scene in a light commercial vehicle. However, the interior minister refrained from identifying the individuals or groups responsible for the attack, the Associated Press reported.

Nevertheless, ANF News, a news agency with close ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), reported on Sunday night that the group had claimed responsibility for the explosion.

It’s worth noting that in the past, both leftist extremists and the Islamic State group have carried out deadly attacks across Turkey.

Written by staff