On October 1st, the Turkish Interior Ministry reported a “terrorist attack” near the Parliament in Ankara, and added that one of the individuals involved detonated himself, while the other was brought under control. Nobody immediately claimed the attack.
A “terrorist attack” took place near Turkey’s parliament in Ankara on Sunday, leaving two police officers injured, the interior ministry said.
The ministry said two attackers arrived in a commercial vehicle around 9:30 am (0630 GMT) “in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of the Interior, and carried out a bomb attack.”
“One of the terrorists blew himself up, and the other was neutralized,” the ministry added on social media, saying two officers received “minor injuries.”
According to Turkish media, the targeted district is home to several other ministries and the Turkish parliament, which was due to reopen today with an address from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
TV channel NTV reported gunfire in the cordoned-off district, where emergency services were in attendance.
The Ankara prosecutor’s office said it was opening an investigation and banned access to the area.
Nobody immediately claimed the attack.
Erdogan was set to speak during the opening of this parliamentary session, which must validate Sweden’s entry into the NATO alliance.
Hungary and Turkey in July lifted their vetoes against Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic alliance but have been slow to ratify its membership.
The capital Ankara has been the scene of several attacks, particularly during the years 2015 and 2016, many claimed by the outlawed separatist group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), or the Islamic State group.
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.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
