Turkey's interior minister said on Sunday that two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of the ministry buildings in Ankara, adding one of them died in the explosion and the other was "neutralised" by authorities there.
Turkish media earlier reported that an explosion was heard near the parliament and ministerial buildings, and broadcasters showed footage of debris scattered on a street near the Interior Ministry.
BREAKING — An explosion and gun fire heard in Turkey’s capital Ankara around 9am in the morning, near the parliament and the ministries
— Ragip Soylu (@ragipsoylu) October 1, 2023
Turkish Parliament opens today after summer recess
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Reuters footage showed soldiers, ambulances, fire trucks and an armoured vehicle gathered near the centre of Turkey's capital, where police had blocked several nearby roads.
Ali Yerlikaya, the interior minister, said on social media platform X that two police officers were slightly injured in the incident at 09:30 (06:30 GMT).
"Two terrorists came with a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of Internal Affairs and carried out a bomb attack," he said.
Ambulances dispatched after explosion and gunshots heard in Kizilay area of Ankara, Turkey #Ankara #Turkey #Explosions #Gunfire #Kizilay pic.twitter.com/OcNOoyAwAr
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He added that one blew himself up and the other was "neutralised", which usually means was killed. "Our struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralised," Yerlikaya wrote.
Ankara's chief prosecutor launched an investigation into what it also called a terrorist attack.
Authorities did not initially identify any specific militant group. But late on Sunday, the Turkish Defence Ministry said it had carried out air strikes in northern Iraq and destroyed 20 targets of an outlawed Kurdish militant group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK.