After the suspected ‘terrorist attack’ near the Turkish parliament in Ankara, President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said that the terrorists’ ‘latest attempt’ to threaten peace and security failed.
They “have not achieved their goals and will never achieve them,” said Erdogan. While speaking at the parliament, he said that the country will ensure that its southern borders are secure from outside militants.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that the second assailant was “neutralised”. The second attacker was killed in the shootout with police, he added.
"The attack this morning where two villains were neutralised as a result of the timely intervention of our security units is the final flutters of terrorism,” said Erdogan.
Two officers were injured in the attack. The attack happened hours before Erdogan’s address in the opening session of the parliament.
The assailants arrived at the scene inside a light vehicle. Reportedly, the attackers had hijacked the vehicle and killed its driver before carrying out the attack.
"Two terrorists came with a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of Internal Affairs and carried out a bomb attack," said Yerlikaya. Our struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralised, he added.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said that an investigation has been launched into the terror attack. “These attacks will not hinder our fight against terrorism,” said Tunc.
In the wake of the incident, security was tightened in the area and the police were also conducting controlled explosions for suspicious packages incident in parts of Ankara.
So far it is not clear which militant group is behind the attack. Militants, especially banned Kurdish Workers Party, used to carry out frequent attacks across the country.