ANKARA: Saudi Arabia on Sunday joined widespread condemnation of a terrorist attack in the Turkish capital Ankara.
The bombing on Sunday morning outside government buildings took place just hours before the Turkish Parliament was due to reopen after its three-month summer recess with an address by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device, and a second assailant was killed in a shootout with police, said Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Kingdom strongly condemned the attack and would continue to support efforts to eradicate terrorism and extremism and cut off funding sources.
The ministry added that it wished for the speedy recovery of two police officers injured in the blast.
The outlawed terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published by PKK-linked news agency ANF.
Erdogan said the “terrorists” would never achieve their aims. “The villains who threaten the peace and security of citizens have not achieved their objectives and will never achieve them,” he added.
The explosion, at around 9:30 a.m. local time, took place on a main road in the heart of Ankara. Yerlikaya said the two terrorists had arrived in the area in a grey commercial vehicle. He added that the injured officers, Alim Reis Demirel and Erkan Karatas, were being treated for non-life-threatening wounds.
In a post on X, Yerlikaya said: “Our fight will continue relentlessly until the last terrorist is neutralized.”
Counterterrorism efforts and a heightened focus on combating organized criminal networks have been stepped up in Turkiye since Yerlikaya assumed office in June.
Mayor of Ankara Mansur Yavas said: “I wish a speedy recovery to our police officers who were injured in the explosion organized by treacherous terrorists.”
Ankara’s police chiefs have urged city residents to stay vigilant over suspicious packages.
In a statement on X, the ministry said: “Our fight against terrorism, their collaborations, poison merchants, gangs, and organized criminal organizations will continue with determination.”
A thermobaric launcher was reportedly found at the scene.
