Solved case · 2023
Also known as Ankara bombing
2023 Ankara bomb attackCredit: Yıldız YazıcıoğluPublic domainSourceThe short answer
On 1 October 2023, two attackers detonated explosives and opened fire outside the General Directorate of Security building in Ankara, Turkey, injuring two police officers before both attackers were killed. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Suggest coverage for 2023 Ankara bombingOn the morning of 1 October 2023, at around 09:30 local time, a light commercial vehicle carrying two men arrived in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of the Interior Ministry on Atatürk Boulevard in Ankara, Turkey. One attacker threw a small explosive device toward the building, apparently to distract security personnel, while his companion opened fire on guards at the compound's gate before detonating a bomb strapped to his body, killing himself. The first attacker then attempted to rush the compound but was shot dead by police before he could detonate his own explosive.
The blast produced large flames and was reportedly heard several kilometers away. Security footage indicated that a guard tower at the gate was damaged. Two police officers were injured: one was shot in the chest and another suffered shrapnel injuries to both legs and an eye. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said neither officer's injuries were life-threatening.
Turkish media reported that before arriving in Ankara, the attackers had hijacked the vehicle used in the attack in Kayseri, roughly 260 kilometers southeast of Ankara, killing its 24-year-old driver, a veterinarian, and dumping his body in a ditch. On 4 October, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that the attackers had come from Syria and had trained there.
In the aftermath, police conducted at least two controlled explosions after suspicious packages were found in the area, and investigators recovered a rocket launcher, four guns, three hand grenades, and C-4 explosives near the attackers' vehicle. The Ankara prosecutor's office opened an investigation and closed off the area to media coverage.
The PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, claimed responsibility for the bombing, attributing it to its "Immortal Brigade." The attack occurred hours before the Grand National Assembly of Turkey opened its autumn session; President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the body afterward, calling the attack "the last stand of terrorism." Opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu also condemned the bombing as a terrorist attack.
Following the PKK's claim, the Turkish military launched airstrikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq and northern Syria over subsequent days, and Turkish police conducted raids across 64 provinces, detaining more than 900 people in connection with illegal weapons and PKK membership suspicions. This was reported as the first attack to strike the Turkish capital since a March 2016 bombing claimed by another separatist Kurdish group.
The PKK began an insurgency against the Turkish state, according to background information in the Wikipedia article.
A prior bombing in Ankara, claimed by another separatist Kurdish group, was the last attack to strike the Turkish capital before the 2023 bombing.
At around 09:30 TRT, two attackers arrived by vehicle at the General Directorate of Security building in Ankara; one detonated a suicide bomb and the other was shot dead by police before detonating his own device. Two police officers were injured.
Turkish military conducted a second round of airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq; Turkish police launched raids across 64 provinces, detaining hundreds of people.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that the attackers had come from Syria and were trained there.
Turkish military conducted airstrikes on territory held by Kurdish rebel groups in northern Syria, reportedly killing eight people.
Turkish military conducted further airstrikes; a US F-16 destroyed a Turkish drone near US forces in Al-Hasakah, Syria.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
24-year-old veterinarian whose vehicle was hijacked in Kayseri and who was shot and killed by the attackers prior to the Ankara bombing.[3]
Police officer shot in the chest during the attack; injuries reported as not life-threatening.[3]
Police officer who suffered shrapnel injuries to both legs and an eye during the attack; injuries reported as not life-threatening.[3]
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