Syrian Man Behind Deadly Ankara Car Bomb Attack; Turkey Vows To Retaliate

By Jenn Loro - 19 Feb '16 09:18AM
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Ankara was rocked by an explosion on Wednesday evening that blasted military vehicles at a city intersection in what the government purportedly labeled as a Kurdish-led terror attack in the Turkish capital.

The bombing incident left 28 people dead and 61 more injured. Military authorities suspected a bomb-filled vehicle caused the explosion after stopping at a traffic light in an intersection along with three military vehicles. As of press time, no group laid claim to the recent attack.

"Our determination to respond in kind against such attacks against our unity and future from outside and inside is even more strengthened through such attacks. Turkey will not hesitate to use its right to self-defense anytime, anywhere, and in all situations, "remarked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a statement condemning the attack as quoted by CNN.

A day after the Ankara attack, six soldiers were reportedly killed and another was injured in a roadside explosion that crippled an armored military vehicle in the Turkish province of Diyarbakir.

Both the Turkish government and opposition unanimously pin the blame on militant Kurdish separatist rebel group, the PKK, which has been labeled as a terrorist organization by both EU and the United States.

Syrian Kurdish leaders, however, strongly rejected the allegation. Not even the notorious ISIS claimed responsibility.

As a response, the Turkish military ordered a retaliatory bombing of Kurdish rebel positions in Syria just across northern Iraq according to a report by USA Today.

In a nutshell, Kurdish-led separatist group PKK has been waging a decades-long war with Ankara to fulfill their objective of attaining independence or autonomy, at least, according to a report by BBC.

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