March 2016 Ankara bombing

March 2016 Ankara bombing
Part of Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
Place of attack
Location	Kızılay, Ankara, Turkey
Date	13 March 2016 about 18:35 (UTC+2)
Target	Civilians TAK claim: Security forces
Attack type	Car bombing, suicide bombing
Deaths	37 civilians + 1 perpetrator
Non-fatal injuries	127
Perpetrator	Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK)

Civilians

On 13 March 2016, at 18:35 (EET), a bombing took place in Kızılay, Ankara, in which at least 37 people were killed and 125 injured, with 19 being heavily injured. A car laden with explosives was used for the attack and buses carrying civilians were targeted. The bombing took place on Atatürk Boulevard, near Güvenpark, at a point where several bus stops were located, and several buildings and cars were damaged. According to initial reports, a bus was completely burned, along with many cars. The area was subsequently evacuated as a precaution against the possibility of further attacks.

Following the attack, Turkish authorities reportedly imposed media restrictions: journalists said some broadcast media were subject to a ban on covering aspects of the attack, and the Turkish broadcasting authority RTÜK issued a ban on covering aspects of the explosion. Analysts also said that access to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter was "extremely slow or blocked after the explosion" as social media in Turkey were reportedly blocked with the justification that they contained graphic images of the explosion.

The daily Sözcü reported that the Ministry of the Interior identified the assailant as Seher Çağla Demir, a Kurdish militant studying at Balıkesir University. A few days later on 17 March 2016, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed responsibility. The group had already claimed the previous Ankara bombing in February.

The attack came at a time when Turkey was facing multiple security threats. It is a member of the coalition fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. There also is an ongoing conflict in the country's southeast with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), following the collapse of a truce in July 2015. This attack was the third major attack in Ankara in six months, less than a month earlier on 17 February, another bombing had killed 30 in central Ankara. That attack was claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK).