In a live television speech, Davutoglu said the bombing showed the Syrian Kurdish YPG is a terrorist organisation and that Turkey expects cooperation from its allies against the group.
Advertisement
“Those who head the PYD and PKK say this has no connection with them, but based on the information obtained by our interior minister and our intelligence agencies, it has been identified that this was done by them”, he said on Thursday.
A firefighter tries to put out a fire as Turkish army busses burn after an explosion on February 17, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey.
Dozens were also wounded after the auto laden with explosives detonated next to military buses near the armed forces’ headquarters. The attack was the second deadly bombing in Ankara in four months.
The Anatolia report said investigators were focusing on the links of those detained to the PKK.
Asked to comment on Kirby’s comments, Erdoğan said he is not in a position to respond to Kirby because Kirby is not his counterpart, adding that he would raise the matter with President Barack Obama later today. It said that despite Turkey’s “provocations and attacks” on Kurdish areas in Syria, it has never retaliated against Turkey.
“We have no doubt that the perpetrators are the YPG and PYD”, Erdogan said in Istanbul, referring to the main Syrian Kurdish militia and their political wing.
The bombing came as the Turkish government had been pressing the United States to cut off its support to Kurdish Syrian militias.
“We will continue our fight against the pawns that carry out such attacks, which know no moral or humanitarian bounds, and the forces behind them with more determination every day”, he said in a written statement.
However, Kurdish militia groups have also been battling ISIS. In response to USA demands to stop shelling the group, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Washington should pick a side. The U.S. already lists the PKK as a terror group.
Another bombing targeted a military vehicle in southeast Turkey on Thursday, killing at least seven security forces. The claim couldn’t be verified.
Wednesday’s explosion hit three military vehicles and a private vehicle in central Ankara, near the Turkish Parliament buildings, Anadolu reported, citing Ankara Gov. Mehmet Kiliclar.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg strongly condemned Wednesday’s attack and expressed his condolences to the Turkish people. “It must be known that Turkey will not refrain from using its right to self-defense at all times”.
Advertisement
“This process will help our friends – who we could not convince so far – better understand how strong the links are between the PYD and YPG in northern Syria with the PKK in Turkey”, said Erdogan. The Syrian war, meanwhile, is raging along Turkey’s southern border.
