Turkish police secure the area near the interior ministry after a bomb attack in Ankara, Oct. 1, 2023, which injured two policemen. (Credit: Adem Altan/AFP)
BEIRUT — A pair of suicide bombers struck Ankara Sunday, lightly injuring two policemen who authorities said had tried to neutralize the perpetrators.
According to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the "bomb" attack was carried out by two terrorists who "arrived in a commercial vehicle around 9:30 a.m. (local/Beirut time) near the entrance gate of the interior ministry's general directorate of security and carried out a bombing ... One of the terrorists detonated his suicide vest. The other was neutralized. Two police officers were lightly injured" in the explosion, the senior official stated on X (formerly Twitter).
Surveillance camera footage shows a gray vehicle parking in front of the police headquarters. An armed man steps out of the front passenger seat and advances to detonate himself the police guard post. A second man rushes forward but disappears from the frame, as flames, smoke and dust rise from the explosion.
#BreakingNews Video Footage of Attack on the Front Gate of General Directorate of Security in Ankara capital of Turkyie.#Turkey #Ankara #Turkyie pic.twitter.com/LxrcyU9d1c
— Peoples Eye (@eye_peoples) October 1, 2023
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has urged media outlets to remove social media videos posted content, saying the state does not want the videos to circulate.
23 DERECE ailemize....
— 23 DERECE (@yirmiucderece) October 1, 2023
İçişleri Bakanı sayın Yerlikaya'nın ricası ve getirilen yayın yasağı sonrası, sorumlu gazeteciliğin gereği olarak Ankara Kızılay'daki patlamaya ilişkin yayınladığımız tüm videoları kaldırdık.
Anlayışınız için teşekkürler...#Patlama pic.twitter.com/8V29LvHDBl
Private television channel NTV reported gunfire following the explosion in the closed district, where numerous police vehicles and ambulances were deployed.
Saat 09.30 sıralarında İçişleri Bakanlığımız Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü giriş kapısı önüne hafif ticari araçla gelen 2 terörist bombalı saldırı eyleminde bulunmuştur.
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) October 1, 2023
Teröristlerden biri kendini patlatmış, diğer terörist etkisiz hale getirilmiştir.
Açılan ateş sırasında 2 Emniyet…
Ankara police prefecture announced on X that they were carrying out "controlled detonations" of "suspicious packages" as a precaution against further attacks. They urged residents not to panic.
Turkish police deployed near the interior ministry after a bomb attack in Ankara, Oct. 1, 2023. (Credit: Adem Altan/AFP)
No one has yet to claim responsiblity for the bombing and AFP and AP report that Turkey's general prosecutor's office has opened an investigation to identify who is behind this attack. Turkish media says authorities have also restricted access to the targeted area and "banned" the publication of information on the matter.
Posting on its X account, independent Turkish media outlet 23 Derece said the attack's perpetrators had traveled to Ankara in a car stolen from a pharmacist whom they had murdered in the city of Kayseri in eastern Turkey, approximately 350 km from Ankara. 23 Derece said "the body of the murdered pharmacist was found in an empty field." Commenting on this information, some social media users wondered whether surveillance cameras had captured the stolen vehicle's license plate as it travlled between Kayseri and Ankara. Some condemned the attack and expressed their support for the injured police officers.
The targeted district is home to numerous state ministries, as well as the parliament building, which was scheduled to hold its inaugural session Sunday starting at 2:00 p.m.Ankara Kızılay'daki saldırıyı gerçekleştiren teröristlerin,
— 23 DERECE (@yirmiucderece) October 1, 2023
Kayseri’de veterinerlik yapan Mikail Bozloğan’ı başından vurarak öldürdüğü ve aracını gasp ederek Ankara'ya geldikleri öğrenildi.
Öldürülen veterinerin cesedi boş bir arazide bulundu. pic.twitter.com/0AD0ostgsg
The national assembly is expected to approve Sweden's entry into the NATO this year. Since May 2022, Turkey has delayed Sweden's accession, citing its leniency towards "terrorists" and Kurdish movements. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains an ambiguous position on Sweden's admission, arguing that parliament is sovereign, and only it can decide whether to lift this veto or not.
Ankara witnessed numerous violent attacks during the years 2015-2016, claimed by or blamed on the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) or the Islamic State group. Between October 2015 and March 2016, three attacks were carried out in the Turkish capital, resulting in the deaths of approximately 160 people.
This is an evolving story and will be updated accordingly, as more information about the incident are available.
