Solved case · 2013
Secretary Kerry Honors Embassy Guard AkarsuCredit: U.S. Department of StatePublic domainSourceThe short answer
On 1 February 2013, a suicide bomber attacked the United States embassy in Ankara, Turkey, killing a Turkish security guard and wounding three others, including a journalist.
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Suggest coverage for this caseOn 1 February 2013, at approximately 13:15 local time (11:15 UTC), a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at a side entrance to the United States embassy in the Kavaklıdere area of Ankara, Turkey. The device consisted of 6 kilograms (13 lb) of trinitrotoluene (TNT) and a hand grenade. The blast killed a Turkish security guard and wounded three other people.
The security guard killed in the attack was identified as Mustafa Akarsu. Journalist Didem Tuncay was seriously wounded in the explosion and was rushed to hospital. Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr., the United States ambassador to Turkey at the time, visited Tuncay in hospital afterward and described her as "one of the best," adding that she had been due to have tea with him at the embassy. Ricciardone also paid tribute to Akarsu, calling him "a hero who [had] lost his life to protect the embassy staff."
The bombing was denounced as an act of terrorism by both the Turkish and United States governments. The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP/C), a Marxist–Leninist organization designated as a terrorist group by both the Turkish and United States governments, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published on its website the following day, 2 February 2013. In its statement, the group cited Turkish support for the opposition in the Syrian civil war as a motivation for the attack.
Turkish officials identified the bomber as Ecevit Şanlı, a 30-year-old member of the group, and the organization's statement confirmed that Şanlı had carried out the attack and had "sacrificed himself." Şanlı had previously been imprisoned from 1997 to 2000 for his involvement in an attack against a military guest house in Istanbul using a flamethrower. Following the embassy bombing, three additional people were arrested in Istanbul and Ankara in connection with their alleged roles in the attack.
Ecevit Şanlı, later identified as the embassy bomber, was imprisoned for his involvement in an attack against a military guest house in Istanbul using a flamethrower.
Şanlı was released from prison after serving his sentence for the 1997 attack.
A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a side entrance to the United States embassy in Ankara, killing a security guard and wounding three others, including a journalist.
The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP/C) claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement published on its website, identifying Ecevit Şanlı as the bomber.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Journalist seriously wounded in the explosion[3]
Turkish security guard killed in the bombing while on duty at the embassy[3]
Identified by Turkish officials as the suicide bomber; named by the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front as the perpetrator who died carrying out the attack[3]
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