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Kurdish militants blow themselves up

Two suicide bombers have blown themselves up on the outskirts of the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Turkish forensic police officers search the area for evidence
A Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for a bombing in Istanbul that injured 10 people (AAP) Source: EPA

2 min read

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Updated

By Nilgun Kilic

Source: AAP, SBS World News



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Two militants have detonated explosives, killing themselves in a remote area near the Turkish capital, Ankara, after police called on them to surrender.

The militants, believed to be a male and female, are suspected of being linked to the armed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and are believed to have been in possession of plastic explosives and 200 kg of ammonium nitrate, broadcaster CNN Turk says.

A third person is being sought.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said on Saturday the two militants were preparing to carry out a car bomb attack when the blast occurred in countryside on the road from Ankara to the town of Haymana.

The PKK has fought a three-decade-old insurgency, focused in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey, in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union.

Leftist and Islamists militants have also carried out bombings in Turkey in the past, with the Islamic State militant group blamed for some recent attacks.

PKK offshoot The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed a bomb attack near a police station in Istanbul that injured 10 people on Friday.


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