2015 Ankara bombings
On 10 October 2015 at 10:04 local time (EEST) in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, two bombs were detonated outside Ankara Central railway station. With a death toll of 109 civilians, the attack surpassed the 2013 Reyhanlı bombings as the deadliest terror attack in Turkish history. Another 500 people were injured. Censorship monitoring group Turkey Blocks identified nationwide slowing of social media services in the aftermath of the blasts, described by rights group Human Rights Watch as an "extrajudicial" measure to restrict independent media coverage of the incident.
| 2015 Ankara bombings | |
|---|---|
| Part of Turkey-ISIL conflict | |
"Democracy" memorial in front of Ankara Central railway station | |
| Location | In front of Ankara Central railway station, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 39.9364°N 32.8438°E |
| Date | 10 October 2015 10:04 (EEST) |
| Target | Protesters |
Attack type | Suicide bombing, mass murder |
| Deaths | 109 |
| Injured | 500+ |
| Perpetrators | Disputed (see below} |
| Assailants | Yunus Emre Alagöz (identified) Ömer Deniz Dündar (alleged) |
| Suicide attacks in Turkey |
|---|
| Groups responsible |
|
| Attacks |
|
The bombs appeared to target a "Labour, Peace and Democracy" rally organised by the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK). The peace march was held to protest against the growing conflict between the Turkish Armed Forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The incident occurred 21 days before the scheduled 1 November general election.
The governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) condemned the attack and called it an attempt to cause division within Turkey. CHP and MHP leaders heavily criticized the government for the security failure, whereas HDP directly blamed the AK Party government for the bombings. Various political parties ended up cancelling their election campaigns while three days of national mourning were declared by the Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.
No organisation has ever claimed responsibility for the attack. The Ankara Attorney General stated that they were investigating the possibility of two cases of suicide bombings. On 19 October, one of the two suicide bombers was officially identified as the younger brother of the perpetrator of the Suruç bombing; both brothers had suspected links to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the ISIL affiliated Dokumacılar group.