Muezzinoglu added that 71 people were still being treated in hospitals and that 15 of them were in serious condition, Reuters reported. Two of the dead were believed to be the assailants, he added.
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After the bombing, the Kurdish militants, who accuse the Turkish government of supporting Daesh, engaged in a series of attacks against Turkish police and security forces, prompting the Turkish military operations in return.
“I suspect (the government) had some indication that there was going to be an attack … but they probably weren’t able to narrow it down”, CNN military analyst Rick Francona said.
The private NTV news channel said several vehicles then caught fire following the blast which also shattered the windows of shops that line the boulevard and the square. “It (the bus) slowed down”. “The U.S. Embassy made a decision to err on the side of caution and go out and put out the warning anyway”.
DNA tests were underway to identify the bomber and another body believed to be that of a person who assisted. Forensic teams were examining the scene. A State Department statement condemned the latest bloodshed, saying that the United States remains committed to “combating the shared threat of terrorism” with NATO-ally Turkey.
The PKK was formed in 1970 and has been engaging in a bitter violent dispute with the Turkey government since 1984, based on their stance of wanting an independent Kurdish State, inside Turkey. On February 17, there was a suicide bombing that killed 29 people in the capital. The raids and airstrikes targeted members and facilities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a separatist group that has been responsible for other attacks in Turkey.
The second suspect has been indentified as a Turkish male with PKK links.
March 14 (ANI): One of the bombers that claimed 37 lives in capital Ankara yesterday is reportedly a member the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK).
Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast has been witnessing a surge of violence since a 2-1/2 year ceasefire with the PKK collapsed in July.
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One police officer and three militants were killed in clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish insurgents in southeast Turkey’s largest city of Diyarbakir on Tuesday, security sources said, as local authorities imposed a curfew. At least 37 people were killed by the blast and hundreds have been wounded.
