Massive terror bombing kills at least 28 in Turkish capital

A massive bombing attack occurred in the Turkish capital of Ankara, which prompted the Turkish government to pledge a strong measure to retaliate.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday that a car bombing occurred at the parliament building and the Army command in central Ankara on Wednesday killed at least 28 people and wounded 60 others. According to the BBC, a vehicle fully loaded with bombs, which was standing by a bus carrying military personnel, stopped at a traffic light and exploded at the time of the attack. The bombing destroyed three military vehicles and one civilian vehicle. Another bombing attack also occurred at the Turkish culture center in Stockholm, Sweden on the same day, but no casualty was reported.

In a statement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “Turkey has the right to exercise its self-defense right in any circumstance,” hinting at a measure for strong retaliation. He cancelled his trip to Azerbaijan, which was scheduled on Thursday.

The terror attack is believed to have been committed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or the Kurdish separatists group, or the Sunni Muslim terror group ISIS. The Turkish military has been carrying out operations to eradicate PKK in southeastern cities since December last year. The military recently conducted artillery attacks on the base of the People’s Defense Unit (YPG), the pro-Kurdish militia in northern Syria, which sparked international controversy.

파리=전승훈특파원 raphy@donga.com