Turkey has identified the suicide bomber who killed at least 28 and injured 61 in an attack in Ankara Wednesday night as Saleh Nejar, a member of the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG).
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made the announcement this morning.
Salih Muslim, leader of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the political wing of the YPG, has denied that the YPG or the PYD is responsible for the bombing.
A further nine people have been detained in connection with the attack. Davutoglu said they have clear links with the YPG. Nejar was identified by fingerprints given when he entered Turkey with, it is believed, refugees fleeing the civil war.
Davutoglu said he hopes that this makes it clear to Turkey’s allies the ties between the YPG and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been named a terrorist organization the US and European Union.
Ankara has repeatedly asked its NATO allies to declare the YPG a terrorist group and to support Turkey’s fight with the group. Turkey has been shelling YPG-held territory in Syria across its border over the last several days. The US has declined to side with Ankara and is maintaining their support of the YPG as a key player on the ground in Syria in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS).
In a statement following the Ankara bombing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said, “Our determination to respond in kind to attacks taking place inside and outside our borders is getting stronger with such acts.”
“It must be known that Turkey will not shy away from using its right to self-defense at any time, any place or any occasion,” he continued. Adding, "We will continue our fight against the pawns that carry out such attacks, which know no moral or humanitarian bounds, and the forces behind them with more determination every day."
Co-chair of the Kurdish-aligned political party HDP Selahattin Demirtas stated on Twitter, “I condemn the brutal attack in Ankara. May those who lost their lives rest in peace.”
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack as of yet.
This is the third deadly bombing in Turkey this year. A bomb detonated at the entrance to a police complex in Diyarbakir killed six on January 14 and a suicide bomber killed 12 foreign tourists in Istanbul on January 12. At least five bombs rocked the country in 2015.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made the announcement this morning.
Salih Muslim, leader of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the political wing of the YPG, has denied that the YPG or the PYD is responsible for the bombing.
A further nine people have been detained in connection with the attack. Davutoglu said they have clear links with the YPG. Nejar was identified by fingerprints given when he entered Turkey with, it is believed, refugees fleeing the civil war.
Davutoglu said he hopes that this makes it clear to Turkey’s allies the ties between the YPG and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been named a terrorist organization the US and European Union.
Ankara has repeatedly asked its NATO allies to declare the YPG a terrorist group and to support Turkey’s fight with the group. Turkey has been shelling YPG-held territory in Syria across its border over the last several days. The US has declined to side with Ankara and is maintaining their support of the YPG as a key player on the ground in Syria in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS).
In a statement following the Ankara bombing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said, “Our determination to respond in kind to attacks taking place inside and outside our borders is getting stronger with such acts.”
“It must be known that Turkey will not shy away from using its right to self-defense at any time, any place or any occasion,” he continued. Adding, "We will continue our fight against the pawns that carry out such attacks, which know no moral or humanitarian bounds, and the forces behind them with more determination every day."
Co-chair of the Kurdish-aligned political party HDP Selahattin Demirtas stated on Twitter, “I condemn the brutal attack in Ankara. May those who lost their lives rest in peace.”
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack as of yet.
This is the third deadly bombing in Turkey this year. A bomb detonated at the entrance to a police complex in Diyarbakir killed six on January 14 and a suicide bomber killed 12 foreign tourists in Istanbul on January 12. At least five bombs rocked the country in 2015.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment