2015 Ankara bombings

2015 Ankara bombings
Part of Turkey-ISIL conflict
"Democracy" memorial in front of Ankara Central railway station
LocationIn front of Ankara Central railway station, Turkey
Coordinates39°56′11″N 32°50′38″E / 39.9364°N 32.8438°E / 39.9364; 32.8438
Date10 October 2015
10:04 (EEST)
TargetProtesters
Attack type
Suicide bombing, mass murder
Deaths109[1][2][3]
Injured500+[4]
PerpetratorsIslamic State Islamic State
AssailantsYunus Emre Alagöz (identified)[5]
Ömer Deniz Dündar (alleged)[6]
Suicide attacks in
Turkey
Aftermath of the Suruç bombing in 2015
Groups responsible
Attacks

On 10 October 2015 at 10:04 local time (EEST) in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, two bombs were detonated outside Ankara Central railway station. With a death toll of 109 civilians,[1][7] the attack surpassed the 2013 Reyhanlı bombings as the deadliest terror attack in Turkish history.[8] Another 500 people were injured.[9][4][10] Censorship monitoring group Turkey Blocks identified nationwide slowing of social media services in the aftermath of the blasts, described by rights group Human Rights Watch as an "extrajudicial" measure to restrict independent media coverage of the incident.[11][12]

The bombs appeared to target a "Labour, Peace and Democracy" rally organised by the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK). The peace march was held to protest against the growing conflict between the Turkish Armed Forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The incident occurred 21 days before the scheduled 1 November general election.[13][14][15][16][17]

The governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) condemned the attack and called it an attempt to cause division within Turkey.[18][19][20] CHP and MHP leaders heavily criticized the government for the security failure, whereas HDP directly blamed the AK Party government for the bombings.[21][22][23] Various political parties ended up cancelling their election campaigns while three days of national mourning were declared by the Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.[24][25][26]

No organisation has ever claimed responsibility for the attack. The Ankara Attorney General stated that they were investigating the possibility of two cases of suicide bombings.[27] On 19 October, one of the two suicide bombers was officially identified as the younger brother of the perpetrator of the Suruç bombing; both brothers had suspected links to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the ISIL affiliated Dokumacılar group.[5][28]

  1. ^ a b "Does Turkey have to learn to live with terror?". Hürriyet Daily News. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  2. ^ NRC Handelsblad, 30 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Ankara Tren Garı Önünde Patlama". HÜRRİYET - ARAMA. 30 March 2016.
  4. ^ a b Melvin, Don (11 October 2015). "At least 97 killed in twin bombings near train station in Turkey's capital". CNN. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference alagoz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ibtimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Fifth anniversary of Ankara bombings in Turkey". fotos.europapress.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  8. ^ "BBC: Ankara explosions leave more than 80 dead – officials". BBC News. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference NRC29Jun16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "BAŞBAKANLIK KOORDİNASYON MERKEZİ AÇIKLAMASI 11 EKİM – 12:24". Prime Minister of Turkey. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Open Letter to the Government of Turkey on Internet Blocking and Free Expression". Human Rights Watch. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Twitter access is effectively blocked across Turkey by means of selective bandwidth throttling - Turkey Blocks". Twitter. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Dozens of casualties in blast at Ankara train station". Anadolu Agency. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  14. ^ "At least 20 killed in twin blast in Turkey's Ankara ahead of rally: Report". Hurriyet News Agency. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Twin bombs kill 30 at pro-Kurdish rally in Turkish capital". Reuters.
  16. ^ "Ankara explosions leave more than 80 dead – officials". BBC News.
  17. ^ "Ankara peace rally rocked by deadly explosions". Al Jazeera.
  18. ^ "Ankara patlaması Davutoğlu flaş açıklama". İnternethaber.com. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  19. ^ "Kılıçdaroğlu'ndan ilk açıklama". MİLLİYET HABER – TÜRKİYE'NİN HABER SİTESİ. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  20. ^ "Terör saldırısı sonrası Bahçeli'den ilk açıklama". Haber7. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  21. ^ "Accusing PM of 'power vacuum' upon Ankara massacre, CHP-HDP leaders insist on dialogue". Hürriyet Daily News. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  22. ^ "MHP leader sees 'security failure' in Ankara massacre". Hürriyet Daily News. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  23. ^ "HDP co-chair blames AKP government for Ankara bombings". Hürriyet Daily News. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  24. ^ "Üç gün 'ulusal yas' ilan edildi". Bugun.com.tr. 10 October 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  25. ^ "CHP'de seçim programı iptal edildi". Demirmedya – Zonguldak için haber. Archived from the original on 12 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  26. ^ Yeni Şafak (10 October 2015). "Başbakan Davutoğlu 3 günlük seçim programını iptal etti". Yeni Şafak. Archived from the original on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  27. ^ "Başsavcı Kodalak: 2 canlı bomba üzerinde duruyoruz". soL Haber Portalı – güne soL'dan bakın.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference telegraph11925064 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).