2007 Ankara bombing
Kurdish militant suicide bombing in Ankara, Turkey
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| 2007 Ankara suicide bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) | |
| Location | Ankara, Turkey |
| Date | 22 May 2007 17:20 – ? (UTC+2) |
| Target | Shopping centre |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Deaths | 9[1][2][3][4] |
| Injured | 121[1] |
| Perpetrators | Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK)[5] |
- v
- t
- e
Kurdish–Turkish conflict
Timeline
- First insurgency
- 1984
- Karageçit
- N Iraq (1986)
- Ortabağ
- N Iraq (1987)
- Pınarcık
- Yeşilova
- Taşdelen
- Şırnak
- Kulp
- N Iraq (1992)
- Bingöl
- Başbağlar
- Lice
- Winter campaign
- Steel
- Tokat
- Hawk
- Tunceli
- Varto
- Sazak
- Hammer
- Dawn
- Murat
- Istanbul
- Second insurgency
- Hakkâri (2007)
- N Iraq (2007)
- Ankara
- Aktütün
- Diyarbakır
- Sun
- Reşadiye
- İskenderun
- Hakkâri
- Istanbul
- 2011 border raid
- Hakkâri (2011)
- Roboski
- Hakkâri (2012)
- Beytüşşebap
- Şemdinli
- Third insurgency
- Ceylanpınar
- Siirt bombing
- Martyr Yalçın
- Arslan Kulaksız
- Şırnak
- Cizre (2015)
- Cizre (2016)
- Kandil
- Hakkari
- Silvan
- 2015 airport bombing
- Ankara (Feb 2016)
- Ankara (Mar 2016)
- Bursa
- Istanbul (Jun 2016)
- Istanbul (Oct 2016)
- Istanbul (Dec 2016)
- N Iraq (2016)
- Elazığ
- Cizre
- Euphrates Shield
- Şemdinli
- Kayseri
- İzmir
- Airstrikes in Syria & Iraq
- Olive Branch
- Siirt raid
- Sinjar (2018)
- Gercüş
- Claw
- Peace Spring
- Claw-Eagle & Claw-Tiger
- İskenderun
- Claw-Eagle 2
- Claw-Lightning & Thunderbolt
- Sinjar (2021)
- Claw-Lock
- Istanbul (2022)
- Claw-Sword
- Syria (2023 June)
- Ankara (2023)
- Syria (2023 Oct)
- Peace process and peace efforts
- 1991–2004 Kurdish–Turkish peace initiatives
- 1993 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
- 2013–2015 Solution process
- Others
| Suicide attacks in Turkey |
|---|
 Aftermath of the Suruç bombing in 2015 |
| Groups responsible |
| Attacks |
|
|
The 2007 Ankara bombing was a suicide attack that occurred in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, on 22 May 2007. Six people were reported killed, including one of Pakistani origin, and 121 people were wounded.[1][6][7][8] A seventh person died from his injuries on 7 June and another on 17 June raising the death toll to eight.[2][3] A ninth person died on 4 July from his injuries.[4]
The attack
The explosion occurred outside a shopping centre in the Ulus quarter of Ankara. The police reports suggested a "suicide bombing".[9] A type A4 bomb has been reported as being the cause of the explosion and the "Terror and Organised Crime Unit" (Turkish: Terör ve Organize Suçlar) has taken over the investigation.[10] The explosion shattered windows of the shopping centre and of nearby buildings creating havoc.[11] The Ankara bombing came as more than 35 world leaders, including the U.S. President, were in Istanbul for a NATO summit that began on Monday, which left tensions high as numerous other incidents have occurred in the run-up to the meeting.[12] It also heightened political tensions between the secular and non-secular parties of Turkey, as both fight for public support and leadership of the nation.[13] The timing of the bombing raised assassination suspicions since General Yaşar Büyükanıt (Chief of the General Staff), General İlker Başbuğ (Commander of the Army), General Işık Koşaner (Commander of the Gendarmerie), General Faruk Cömert (Commander of the Air Force), and Admiral Yener Karahanoğlu (Commander of the Navy) were to attend the IDEF Defense Fair same day held at the Anatolian Civilizations Museum (Turkish: Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi) crossing the blast zone.[14]
The suicide bomber was later identified as Güven Akkuş. Circumstances regarding the explosion of Akkuş's explosives remains unclear. The police has three competing theories:
- While moving towards the target suicide bomber Akkuş panicked when a squad car coincidentally stopped in front of him, leading him to detonate his explosive.
- Type A-4 explosives are sensitive to body temperature so it is possible that the explosives self-detonated while Akkuş and a collaborator only identified by her code name "Ayşe" panicked after the encounter with the squad car.
- Collaborator "Ayşe" detonated Akkuş's explosives remotely when Akkuş panicked.
Collaborator "Ayşe" is known to have visited a hospital briefly after the bombing and is currently at large.[15]
The attack was claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK). Turkish government claims TAK is part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) but PKK denies this.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Bombalı saldırıda sürpriz tanık" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
- ^ a b "Anafartalar saldırısında ölü sayısı 7'ye yükseldi" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- ^ a b "8'inci kurban" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
- ^ a b "Anafartalar'da ölü sayısı 9'a çıktı" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
- ^ a b "我的站点". Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
- ^ "Vali açıkladı: Canlı bomba" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- ^ "Ankara'da patlama FLAŞ" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ "Görgü tanığı: 10 ölü var" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ "Explosion rocks Turkish capital". BBC. 2007-05-22. Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ "Bombanın cinsi A4" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4825650.html [dead link]
- ^ "Explosion in Ankara not a bomb". Television New Zealand. 29 June 2004. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ Reuters AlertNet - Bomb in Turkish capital kills six, injures 80
- ^ "Korkunç şüphe: Hedef Komutan mıydı?" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- ^ "Polis, Ayşe'nin peşinde!" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
39°56′29.50″N 32°51′22.00″E / 39.9415278°N 32.8561111°E / 39.9415278; 32.8561111
