Ankara blast: Woman suicide bomber involved, official says

Story highlights

• One of the suicide bombers involved in attack was a woman, an official says
• Turkish leader: "Attacks ... do not diminish our will to fight against terror, but further boost it"
• Car bomb exploded Sunday in Ankara, killing at least 35 and wounding scores more

Ankara, Turkey (CNN)A female suicide bomber and a male accomplice were behind a car bomb attack in the Turkish capital city that claimed the lives of at least 35 civilians, an official said Monday.

The female suicide bomber has been identified, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said, but he did not provide further details about the bomber's background.

Investigators say they expect to identify the suspected male attacker pending the outcome of a DNA test.

Eleven people have been detained in relation to Sunday's bombing in Ankara, Kurtulmus said, and 10 more remain at large.

As part of their investigation, authorities have been tracing a network connected to the female suicide bomber, he said.

"At this point in the investigation, the network of the woman who has definitively been identified as the suicide bomber, has been uncovered and is continuing to be uncovered," he said.

Although the government has not officially blamed the PKK, or the Kurdistan Workers' Party, for carrying out the suicide attack,Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters Monday that the evidence uncovered in the investigation very strongly indicates a "separatist terrorist organization" is responsible.

Raids targeting terror

Turkish authorities arrested at least 29 people in anti-terror raids and fighter jets struck Kurdish separatist targets in Iraq on Monday. Turkey's semiofficial Anadolu agency reported the terror sweeps and airstrikes.

Four people have also been detained in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa in connection with the vehicle used in the bombing, Anadolu reported. Security forces said the vehicle was purchased there, the news agency said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to bring those responsible for Sunday's attack, which targeted a transit hub, to justice. The country will bring "down terror to its heel," he said.

"Terror organizations and their pawns are targeting our innocent citizens in the most immoral and heartless way as they lose the fight against our security forces," Erdogan said in a statement.

"Terror attacks -- which intend to target the integrity of Turkey, unity and solidarity of our people -- do not diminish our will to fight against terror, but further boost it."

Last week, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara warned of a plot to strike government buildings not far from Sunday's attack site.

"I suspect (the government) had some indication that there was going to be an attack ... but they probably weren't able to narrow it down," CNN military analyst Rick Francona said. "The U.S. Embassy decided to err on the side of caution and go out and put out the warning anyway."

Authorities haven't released details about who they believe was behind the blast.

"It's too early to talk about who carried out this attack. The investigation is ongoing," a senior Turkish official said. "Our priority right now is the wounded."

Change of focus

February: Kurdish militants claim deadly Ankara blast

Curfews were declared for two areas of southern Turkey, imposed "due to escalating terror activity in the region" and to ensure the "security of citizens' lives and property," according to the news agency, quoting statements from the governors' offices of Hakkari and Mardin provinces.

Assigning responsibility for the attack could be difficult, but it could stir Erdogan to take an even tougher stance toward Kurdish separatists, CNN intelligence and security analyst Bob Baer said.

"Erdogan is already a bit of an authoritarian, and this is going to push him into a full-on war with the Kurds," he said.

Following the attack, the Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council banned the broadcast of any images showing the moment and direct aftermath of the explosion. It also barred graphic images such as those of dead bodies at the scene of the attack.

The country's Internet watchdog also banned the release of video and photos of the blast on social media. Some inside the country -- including CNN's team on the ground -- could not access Facebook or Twitter for hours after the blast.

Turkey has banned social media sites in the past.

CNN's Gul Tuysuz reported from Ankara, and Euan McKirdy wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's Azadeh Ansarai, Catherine E. Shoichet and journalist Isil Sariyuce contributed to this report.

Ankara bombing: Turkey strikes against Kurdish rebel PKK

Turkey has launched air strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq following a bomb attack in Ankara that killed 37 people.

No group said it carried out the attack but PM Ahmet Davutoglu said evidence "almost certainly" pointed towards the banned PKK Kurdish separatist group.

One of the bombers, who also died in the blast, was "definitely" a woman, Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed a crackdown after Sunday's bombing.

Mr Davutoglu said 11 people had so far been detained in connection with the attack.

"There are very serious, almost certain indications that point to the separatist terror organisation,'' he said, referring to the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party).

Four of those detained were in the south-eastern city of Sanliurfa, according to Turkish media. Officials were quoted as saying the car used in the bombing was traced to a showroom there.

Media captionFootage shows the chaotic aftermath of the blast in the Turkish capital, Ankara

Mr Kurtulmus told reporters that a second suicide bomber was male, but had not yet been identified.
Earlier, unnamed security officials said the female bomber was a member of the PKK from the eastern town of Kars, who joined the group in 2013.

Eleven warplanes carried out air strikes on 18 PKK targets in northern Iraq including ammunition dumps and shelters in the Qandil and Gara sectors, the army said. The PKK confirmed the strikes.

Meanwhile, curfews have been imposed in two mainly Kurdish towns in south-eastern Turkey, Yuksekova and Nusaybin, as security operations are carried out against Kurdish militants, Anadolu news agency reports. Another curfew is due to start in the city of Sirnak.

Funeral services have been taking place for some of those killed. Among the victims was the father of a Turkish international footballer. More than 100 people were wounded in the blast.

Image copyright AP

Image caption Funerals have been taking place for those killed in Sunday's attack

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Turkey has seen frequent attacks from Kurdish rebels in recent months

 

Image copyright AFP

Image caption Investigators have been combing the scene of the blast site in Ankara

Turkey is part of the US-led coalition against IS and allows coalition planes to use its air base at Incirlik for raids on Iraq and Syria.
It has also been carrying out a campaign of bombardment against Syrian Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG), which it regards as a extension of the PKK.

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Turkey

• Pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) - with representation in parliament but accused by ruling party of supporting militants
• Banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - hostile to Turkish government, has camps in northern Iraq and operates in south-eastern Turkey
• Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) - offshoot of PKK, said it was behind last month's Ankara bombing

Syria

• Democratic Unity Party (PYD) - linked to PKK
• People's Protection Units (YPG) - controls area on Turkish border known as Rojava. Mainly fighting IS, but regarded by Turkey as an extension of the PKK

Iraq

• Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) - runs Kurdish region of northern Iraq with Peshmerga as armed forces, has friendly relations with Turkey
• KDP - dominant political party in the region

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Turkey's pro-Kurdish political party, the HDP, issued a statement condemning the attack, saying it shares "the huge pain felt along with our citizens".

Last month, a bomb attack on a military convoy in Ankara killed 28 people and wounded dozens more.

That bombing was claimed by a Kurdish militant group, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK). It said on its website that the attack was in retaliation for the policies of President Erdogan.

Turkey, however, blamed a Syrian national who was a member of the YPG.

Last October, more than 100 people were killed in a double-suicide bombing at a Kurdish peace rally in Ankara.

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