February 2016 Ankara bombing

February 2016 Ankara bombing
Part of Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
Location	Ankara, Turkey
Coordinates	39°54′55″N 32°50′26″E / 39.9154°N 32.8406°E / 39.9154; 32.8406Coordinates: 39°54′55″N 32°50′26″E / 39.9154°N 32.8406°E / 39.9154; 32.8406
Date	17 February 2016 18:31 (UTC+2)
Target	Military personnel
Attack type	Car bombing, suicide bombing
Deaths	14 civilian employees of Turkish Armed Forces 14 Officers and soldiers 1 civilian 1 perpetrator Total: 30
Non-fatal injuries	60
Perpetrator	Abdulbaki Sömer Kurdistan Freedom Hawks

On 17 February 2016, in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, at least 30 people died and 60 were injured in a bombing. According to Turkish authorities, the attack targeted a convoy of shuttles carrying both civilian and military personnel working at the military headquarters during the evening rush hour as the vehicles were stopped at traffic lights at an intersection with İsmet İnönü Boulevard close to Kızılay neighborhood. Several ministries, the headquarters of the army and the Turkish Parliament are located in the neighbourhood where the attack occurred. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) took responsibility for the attack and said they targeted security forces. Censorship monitoring organization Turkey Blocks reported nationwide internet restrictions beginning approximately one hour after the blast pursuant to an administrative order.

In October 2015, a bombing at a peace rally in Ankara against a crackdown on Kurds in the country amidst the renewed PKK rebellion following a breakdown of the ceasefire killed over 100 people. On 13 February, Turkish shelling of Kurdish positions in response to "incoming Kurdish fire" and against the backdrop of YPG territorial gains in northern Syria led, at the request of Russia, to a UN briefing in which the president of the United Nations Security Council Rafael Carreno said that all members during the closed-door meeting expressed their concern at Turkey's actions and called on the country to "comply with international law".

Following the UNSC vote and just hours before the bombing, Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, referred to PYD as a "terrorist organisation" akin to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), DHKP-C and Al-Nusra Front and stressed that the attacks against PYD's armed wing, YPG, will continue until it stops alleged threats against Turkey's national security.