Turkey arrests dozens of suspected Kurdish militants after Ankara suicide bombing

Turkey arrested 55 people suspected of having links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after a suicide bombing outside Ankara’s interior ministry.

On Sunday, two militants attacked Turkey’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. The suicide bomber, identified as Hasan Oğuz, was a member of the PKK, which claimed responsibility for the attack. The other terrorist was “neutralized,” and two police officers were slightly injured, the government said. The PKK has been declared a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the U.S.

In response, Turkish authorities carried out raids in 16 provinces leading to the arrest of 55 “suspected terrorist organization members,” Turkish Internal Affairs Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday.

Ankara also carried out air strikes in northern Iraq, destroying 20 PKK targets, Turkish media reported.

In an interview Monday with Saudi channel Al-Hadath, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid condemned the Turkish air strikes, which “lead to the killing of civilians.”

Rashid added that “Turkish violations take place in the Kurdistan region throughout the day … and this is what we do not accept,” as he called for a joint security agreement with Ankara.