Turkey Strikes PKK Bases After Suicide Blast to Distract Security Guards and Unleash Second Attack

Turkey has claimed that they have wiped out PKK targets in northern Iraq after the Kurdish rebel organisation launched a suicide attack in Ankara.

The suicide blast struck a ministry building at around 09:30, with one of the attackers climbing out of a car to throw a small explosive at the ministry.

The small explosive was detonated to distract security guards and allow a second attacker to open fire at the guards who were standing by the ministry gate.

After opening fire, the second attacker detonated a suicide bomb.

After investigating the scene, the authorities noted that they had found four different types of guns, three hand grenades, one rocket launcher and C-4 explosives.

The PKK, better known as the Kurdistan Workers' Party, is a Kurdish militant political organisation that is widely recognised as a terrorist group by nations like Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

However, labelling the PKK as a terrorist organisation has been met with much controversy, with some claiming that the party should be supported for fighting jihadist groups on the ground – including ISIS.

Soon after the attack, the Turkish Ministry of Defence released a statement claiming that multiple Turkish warplanes had carried out retaliation by striking the targets who were each thought to be affiliated with the PKK.

Reports note that the Turkish airstrikes destroyed 20 targets, including caves, bunkers, shelters and warehouses. The Turkish Ministry of Defence went on to announce: "Many terrorists were neutralised."

Turkey's Defence Ministry was also quoted saying that the operation was "to neutralise the PKK and other terrorist elements, prevent terrorist attacks from northern Iraq against our population and our law enforcement agencies, and ensure the security of our borders".

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya also told reporters that the retaliation comes after two police officers were injured in the suicide blast that detonated in front of the ministry building in Ankara.

Yerlikaya noted that the two attackers were terrorists and had both been killed after the bombing – one as the suicide attacker and the other was "neutralised".

The Interior Minister again announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "One of the terrorists blew himself up and the other terrorist was neutralised. During the fire, two of our police officers were slightly injured. I wish a speedy recovery to our heroes. Our fight will continue relentlessly until the last terrorist is neutralised."

As a result of Turkey's response, Iraq's PKK bases in Gara, Hakurk, Metina and Qandil were destroyed.

According to a Turkish Security Official and CCTV cameras, on Saturday 31 September, the attackers hijacked a car in the city of Kayseri in preparation for the blast.

Reports also note that while stealing the car, the two men shot the car's driver in the head – a 24-year-old veterinarian.

A news agency, close to the PKK organisation, noted that the group claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

The ANF news agency said that the group arranged the bombing so that it would coincide with the opening of the parliament and would be carried out with "a team of ours linked to our Immortals Battalion" group.

The ministry, which is located near the parliament building, was struck just hours before it was set to reopen after a summer break.

In the past, specifically in the second half of the 2010s, Turkey has been notorious for terrorism. This is due to the extremist groups that operate in war-torn Syria, a country that shares a border with Turkey.

In his speech that reopened the parliament building today, 2 September, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the attack was "the final flutters of terrorism" in Turkey.

"The vile people who took aim at the peace and security of our citizens did not reach their goal and they never will," he added.