The Turkish government has said that two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of the Interior Ministry buildings in Ankara, adding that one of them died in the explosion and the other was “neutralised” by authorities, media reported.<\/p>\n
The blast was the first in the Turkish capital since 2016 and took place less than a mile from the parliament building, hours before lawmakers were due to return for its reopening after a three-month summer break, the Guardian reported.<\/p>\n
Ali Yerlikaya, the Interior Minister, said on the social media platform X that two attackers approached the general security directorate building at about 9.30 a.m. local time on Sunday in a commercial vehicle.<\/p>\n
According to Yerlikaya, one detonated explosives, killing himself in the process, while the second was killed by gunfire from security forces stationed outside the building, The Guardian reported.<\/p>\n
Two police officers were slightly injured in the incident, he added.<\/p>\n
Authorities closed a main thoroughfare to traffic that passes close to a number of state institutions, including the parliament building.<\/p>\n
Police also announced they would carry out controlled explosions for “suspicious package incidents” in other parts of the city.<\/p>\n
According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, Turkey’s criminal court of peace in Ankara issued a ban on media access and publication of the attack.<\/p>\n
Turkish authorities last year passed a sweeping new law intended to curb “disinformation”, with those accused of breaching the law threatened with up to three years in prison, The Guardian reported.<\/p>\n
The law came into force shortly before an assailant detonated a bomb on one of the busiest shopping streets in Istanbul last November, killing six people and wounding at least 81. Turkish officials blamed Kurdish militants for the attack.<\/p>\n
The attack in Ankara follows a spate of attacks across Turkey in recent years that officials largely blamed on members of the Islamic State or Kurdish militant groups, The Guardian reported.<\/p>\n
In February 2016, a bomb struck a convoy of vehicles carrying military personnel during rush hour in the Turkish capital Ankara, killing 30 and wounding 60 people.<\/p>\n
A month later, a second bomb struck a central boulevard in Ankara, killing 37 people and injuring 125. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks claimed responsibility for both attacks.<\/p>\n
Echoing a response to previous attacks, Turkish officials rushed to condemn alleged disinformation about the latest attack in Ankara.<\/p>\n
Fahrettin Altun, who heads Turkey\u2019s directorate of communications, an institution affiliated with the presidency, cautioned Turkish citizens against the spread of what he labelled disinformation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to emphasise once again the importance of our media continuing its news activities on the subject with a sense of responsibility,\u201d Altun said on X.<\/p>\n
The Interior Minister, recently appointed in a cabinet reshuffle following an election earlier this year, thanked the media for covering the attack in Ankara while reminding them of a broadcast ban imposed by broadcasting watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council.<\/p>\n
He added: “We are deeply wounded by today’s incident\u2026let me warn people who share these images once again, please delete them, do not disrespect our pain.”<\/p>\n