The Turkish Prime Minister has accused Kurdish militia groups of carrying out the bombing that killed 28 people in Ankara yesterday. According to Reuters, the Turkish government has announced that it will continue shelling and bombing Kurdish forces in the region in retaliation for the bombing. Both YPG and PKK, two prominent Kurdish groups, have denied any involvement in the bombings, and are accusing the Turkish government of using the attack as a ruse to justify its assault on Kurdish fighters in Syria. Bulent Aras, a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told The Cipher Brief that “ the situation with the Kurds in Syria complicated Turkey’s own Kurdish problem at home,” and the recent bombings appear to have enhanced the antagonistic elements of that relationship. The Prime Minister also alleged that Bashar Assad’s forces in Syria may have been involved in the bombing, and warned Russia against supporting the Kurds as a means of striking at Turkey indirectly.
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