ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Latest on Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and aftermath of Ankara bombing (all times local):
12:40 p.m.
Turkey’s president says that despite denials, evidence obtained by Turkish authorities points to Syrian Kurdish militias as being behind the car bombing in Ankara that killed 28 people.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking to reporters Thursday during a visit to the chief of military staff’s office, said the attack would show the international community the strong links that exist between Turkish rebel group the PKK, and the Syrian Kurdish militia groups.
Turkey insists that the Syrian militias and the PKK are the same and both are terror groups. It has been pressing its ally, the United States, to recognize the Syrian Kurdish forces as terrorists. The U.S. already lists the PKK as a terror group.
But Washington has relied heavily on the Syrian Kurds in the battle against the Islamic State group and has rejected Turkish pressure.
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12:20 p.m.
Swedish police say they are investigating an explosion late Wednesday in a Turkish association in southwestern Stockholm that caused “major damage.” There were no injuries because the association was closed at the time.
Police spokesman Lars Bystrom says no arrests have been made, adding police couldn’t immediately say whether it was linked to a bombing in Ankara that killed 28 people.
Bystrom said Thursday “we have been in touch” with Sweden’s security police about the blast in Fittja, a suburb with a large immigrant population. He declined to elaborate.
The blast came after a man was seriously wounded when shot during a pro-Kurdish demonstration in Fittja on Saturday.
Bystrom said “it was very hard to say” whether it was linked to the Wednesday evening blast.
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11:45 a.m.
Turkey’s state-run news agency says six soldiers have died in a Kurdish rebel bomb attack in southeast Turkey a day after a suicide blast killed 28 people in Ankara.
Anadolu Agency said Thursday that the rebels detonated a bomb on a road linking the cities of Diyarbakir and Bingol as a military vehicle was passing by.
Another soldier was seriously wounded in the attack, which came a day after the car bombing in the Turkish capital that targeted military personnel.
The PKK has been fighting Turkey for Kurdish autonomy since 1984. The conflict reignited in the summer after the collapse of a fragile peace process.
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11.30 a.m.
The leader of the main Syrian Kurdish group has denied that his group is behind the Turkey blasts and warns Ankara against taking Syria ground action.
Salih Muslim told The Associated Press from his base in Europe Thursday that the Turkish accusations are “totally rejected.”
He also says that the blast in Ankara that killed around 28 people is similar to bombings carried out in the past by the Islamic State group.
“We have no link to these bombings and with what is happening inside Turkey,” he says.
He says that any Turkish ground action in Syria will be confronted by a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters
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11 a.m.
Turkey’s prime minister says his country will retaliate against a Kurdish rebel group he has held responsible for the attack in Ankara that killed 28 people and wounded dozens of others.
Ahmet Davutoglu also told reporters Thursday that Syria’s government, which he accused of backing Syrian Kurdish militias, is also to blame. Wednesday’s blast in Ankara targeted buses carrying military personnel.
In an apparent reference to the U.S., Davutoglu called on allies to stop its support for the Syrian Kurdish group.
Turkey regards the Syrian Democratic Union Party, and its military wing, the People’s Protection Units as terrorists because of their affiliation to Turkey’s outlawed Kurdish rebel group. The Kurdish militia, however, has been fighting the Islamic State group, alongside the United States.
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10:40 a.m.
Turkey’s prime minister says a Syrian national with links to Syrian Kurdish militia carried out the suicide bombing in Ankara that targeted military personnel and killed at least 28 people.
Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday that Turkey’s Kurdish rebels collaborated with the Syrian man to carry out the attack.
Davutoglu said: “The attack was carried out by the PKK together with a person who sneaked into Turkey from Syria,” referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK.
The prime minister said authorities had detained nine people in connection with the attack.
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10:15 a.m.
Turkey’s military says its jets hit Kurdish rebel positions across the border in northern Iraq, following a suicide bombing that targeted military personnel in Ankara killed 28 people.
The military said Thursday the warplanes struck the region of Haftanin in northern Iraq, targeting a group of some 60-70 rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. It said the raids were conducted on Wednesday night. The military said the group included a number of senior PKK leaders.
Turkey’s air force has been striking PKK positions in northern Iraq since a fragile peace process with the group collapsed in July.
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9:35 a.m.
Turkish media reports say a Syrian national was behind the attack in Ankara that killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens of others.
Yeni Safak, a newspaper close to the government, said Thursday that the man who detonated the car bomb Wednesday that targeted buses carrying military personnel was identified from his fingerprints. It said he had been registered as a refugee in Turkey.
Pro-government Sabah newspaper said the man was linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
A government official couldn’t confirm the reports.
The explosion occurred during evening rush hour in the heart of Ankara, in an area close to parliament and armed forces headquarters and lodgings.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility although suspicion fell on the PKK and the Islamic State group.
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