SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu said two far-leftist groups with alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) carried out two bombings in Turkey this week.
On Wednesday, an explosion hit a bus carrying prison guards in Turkey’s northwestern province of Bursa, killing a guard.
An attacker placed a bomb in Istnabul’s Gaziosmanpasa district outside the offices of a non-governmental organization a day later.
“We identified the perpetrators of both attacks, in Bursa and Istanbul. They are affiliated with two organizations subcontracting for the PKK,” Soylu told broadcaster NTV in an interview, according to Reuters.
He said the MLKP and the DKP-BOG – groups that are banned in Turkey for alleged links to the PKK had carried out the attacks, Reuters reported.
The attacks came after Turkey announced the start of a new ground and air campaign in the Kurdistan Region on Monday, targeting PKK positions.
Dubbed Operation Claw-Lock, Ankara says the offensive is a measure to prevent the PKK from using Iraq as a base to carry out attacks in Turkey.
