Solved case · 2016
The short answer
A PKK member detonated a truck bomb at a police checkpoint in Cizre, Turkey, in 2016, killing 12 police officers and injuring dozens more.
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Suggest coverage for 2016 Cizre bombingOn the morning of the attack, at 06:45 local time, a suicide bomber identified by the PKK as Mustafa Aslan (nom de guerre Fırat Pirsus) drove a truck loaded with an estimated 10 tons of explosives toward a police checkpoint near the Cizre District Police Headquarters and the Riot Control Branch Office in the Konak neighborhood of Cizre, Turkey. When the attacker was unable to pass the checkpoint, located roughly 50 meters from the police buildings, a confrontation broke out and he detonated the vehicle.
The explosion killed the attacker and 11 police officers immediately, with 78 people reported injured, including Cizre District Governor Ahmet Adanur and a seven-month-old baby. On 29 September 2016, police officer Safa Altınsoy died from injuries sustained in the attack while being treated at Gülhane Military Medical Academy, bringing the total number of police officers killed to 12. The blast destroyed the district police headquarters building, damaged the retaining wall of the Cizre Garrison Command, and caused damage to numerous nearby houses and workplaces. Reinforcement police units, armored vehicles (TOMAs), and fire trucks were dispatched to the scene.
Following the attack, the Governor of Şırnak Province banned entry and exit to the Cizre district and closed the Cizre-Şırnak highway to transportation. An investigation reportedly found that the dump truck used in the attack was owned by the Şırnak Municipality and had been rented and used by the Cizre Municipality. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack the same day and publicly named the attacker.
The military wing of the PKK, the HPG, took responsibility for the Cizre attack as well as a separate attack on a convoy in Şavşat that day, in which a soldier was killed. The HPG stated that the Cizre bombing was carried out in retaliation for deaths during the Şırnak clashes of 2015–2016.
Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed a temporary broadcasting ban on coverage of the Cizre attack, citing national security provisions under Law No. 6112.
The attack drew condemnation from Turkish political leaders, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, and opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, as well as international reactions from the United States National Security Council and the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.
Suicide car bombing occurs at a police checkpoint near the Cizre District Police Headquarters, killing the attacker and 11 police officers and injuring 78 people.
Police officer Safa Altınsoy dies from injuries sustained in the bombing at Gülhane Military Medical Academy, raising the death toll of police officers to 12.
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