Ankara attack: one of bombers was PKK member, officials say

Officials say one of the perpetrators of attack that killed 37 people in Turkish capital was female member of outlawed group
Turkish security officials say a female member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) was one of two suspected perpetrators of a car bombing that killed 37 people in the capital.
The attack, which tore through a crowded transport hub a few hundred metres from the justice and interior ministries in Ankara on Sunday evening, was the second such bombing in the administrative heart of the city in less than a month.
The officials told Reuters that evidence had been obtained that one of the bombers was a female member of the PKK who joined the militant group in 2013. She was born in 1992 and was from the eastern Turkish city of Kars, they said.
The government expects to officially identify the organisation behind the attack on Monday.
In its armed campaign in Turkey, the PKK has historically struck directly at the security forces and says it does not target civilians. A direct claim of responsibility for Sunday’s bombing would indicate a major tactical shift.
Turkish warplanes bombed camps belonging to the PKK in northern Iraq early on Monday, the army said.
At least 37 people died in Sunday’s blast, the health minister said, adding that 71 people were being treated in hospital. Of those, 15 were in serious condition.
Turkey’s president vowed to defeat those responsible for a series of attacks onTurkey in the past 18 months. “These attacks, which threaten our country’s integrity and our nation’s unity and solidarity, do not weaken our resolve in fighting terrorism but bolster our determination,” , Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.