Terror attack in Turkish capital leaves 2 wounded; both perpetrators dead

Ankara, Oct 1 (EFE).- A terror attack at the interior ministry building in the Turkish capital of Ankara early Sunday left two security personnel wounded, while both perpetrators lost their lives, according to the country’s government.

A suicide attacker blew himself up at the door of the Ministry and the other was neutralized with a shot in the head before having a chance to do detonate his explosives, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya at a press appearance.

He added that the two wounded police officers in the attack, which occurred at 9.30am local time, were undergoing treatment but their condition was not critical.

The minister did not attribute the attack to any specific group, and only promised that the government would continue to fight decisively against all types of “terrorism” and “organized crime.”

Earlier, Yerlikaya, in a post on social media platform X, had promised to decisively fight terrorism and organized crime, in apparent allusion to alleged links between political armed groups and drug trafficking.

During the press conference, the minister warned against sharing footage of the attack on social media, and said that a judicial investigation would be initiated against those who do so.

Several Turkish journalists, on X platform, have posted videos allegedly recorded by security cameras, showing a van near the door of the Ministry, from which two men emerge.

One of them runs to the entrance and the other positions himself in front of the vehicle, while an explosion occurs.

According to local media reports, the vehicle has already been identified as belonging to a veterinarian from Kayseri province, about 300 kilometers southeast of Ankara.

The man was found dead with a shot to the head overnight in the village of Avlaga in a mountainous area south of the province; it is assumed that the perpetrators of the attack killed him to steal the vehicle, reported Sabah newspaper.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrel, in a statement, condemned the terror attack that occurred in Ankara on Sunday in the vicinity of the Turkish Interior Ministry and expressed its solidarity with Turkey. EFE

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