Istanbul
CNN
—
Two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of Turkey’s Interior Ministry building in the Turkish capital Ankara ahead of the opening of parliament on Sunday, authorities said.
Two police officers were wounded in the attack, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement on X, previously known as Twitter.
The attackers arrived in a light commercial vehicle in front of the building’s entrance at about 9:30 a.m. local time, Yerlikaya. One assailant blew himself up and the other was “neutralized.”
What appeared to be a guard tower in front of the entrance to the building was slightly damaged in the blast. Police have since cordoned off the area, and video from the scene from CNN affiliate CNN Turk appeared to show a bomb squad searching the area for other suspicious package.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said that an investigation has been launched into the incident.
“These attacks will in no way hinder Turkey’s fight against terrorism,” Tunc said on X. “Our fight against terrorism will continue even more determinedly.”
The bombing took place just hours before lawmakers are set to return to work after the summer break at 2 p.m.
No group had claimed responsibility as of Sunday morning.
Terror attacks in Turkey were tragically common in the mid to late 2010s, when the insecurity from war-torn Syria crept north above the two countries’ shared border.
Ankara saw two attacks by Kurdish assailants in 2016, one which targeted military personnel on a bus and another at a bus stop.
Twin bombings in 2015 that targeted a peace rally near the capital’s main train station claimed the lives of nearly 100 people.
