Kurdistan Freedom Hawks Claim Responsibility for Recent Ankara Explosion

Four days after the deadly explosion in the Turkish capital, the militant group 'Kurdistan Freedom Hawks' issued a statement on Thursday claiming responsibility for the suicide bombing. Meanwhile, Germany has closed its embassy in Ankara due to 'imminent attack' threats. According to Reuters, the group has also threatened to continue its attacks against Turkish government security forces. A large explosion occurred on Sunday evening, March 23, in a crowded neighborhood in Ankara, near the Turkish Ministry of Justice, resulting in 37 deaths and many injuries. The next day, Turkish security officials announced that one of the two suspects in the Sunday explosion was a woman who had joined the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) last year. According to the Associated Press, Turkish security officials stated on the same day that they have evidence indicating that the PKK is responsible for the explosion, and one of the suicide bombers is a woman born in 1992 from the city of Kars in eastern Turkey. However, the 'Kurdistan Freedom Hawks' or 'TAK' accepted responsibility for the recent explosion on Thursday, stating that the reason was 'revenge' for Turkish operations in the southeastern part of the country, which is predominantly Kurdish. This group had also claimed responsibility for another explosion in Ankara last month that resulted in 29 deaths. The 'Kurdistan Freedom Hawks' or 'TAK' is a group that has split from the PKK, but experts say that the two organizations remain connected. According to Reuters calculations, the Turkish capital has been targeted by at least three bombings in the past five months. Meanwhile, the German government announced on Thursday that it has closed its embassy in the Turkish capital due to 'signs of an imminent attack.' According to the German Foreign Ministry's statement, the German consulate and the German school in Istanbul will also be closed on Thursday.