Eight suspects detained, one killed after explosion hits Ankara

ANKARA

Turkish authorities on Feb. 2 said they had detained eight people in connection with a bomb that rocked the capital Ankara on Feb. 1, injuring three people.

A ninth suspect was killed during the subsequent operation to round up the group, they said.

Soon after the blast, authorities reported that the explosion had taken place in the gas boiler room of a tax office in Ankara’s Çukurambar district.

But after investigating security footage, the police said a man had placed a bag they believe contained explosives at the entrance to the building, the governor’s office said in a statement on Feb. 2.

The statement also said eight people, including the man believed to have planted the explosives, had been detained in four separate provinces.

The suspect who was killed had entered Turkey illegally and received training from a branch of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the governor’s office said.

Turkey considers the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Ankara Governor Ercan Topaca said three people had sustained light injuries from flying debris at the scene of Thursday’s explosion.

Images from the scene showed extensive damage to the building’s facade. Windows of nearby cars were blown out and debris was strewn across the street.

The building had been empty except for security personnel at the time of the blast, local media said.