Turkey warns of strikes on Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq after Ankara suicide bombing

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s foreign minister warns that Kurdish militants behind a suicide bombing in the Turkish capital face robust retaliation against their group’s positions in Syria and Iraq.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack outside the Interior Ministry in Ankara in which one attacker blew himself up and another would-be bomber was killed in a shootout with police. Two police were wounded in the attack.

Turkish warplanes already have conducted two airstrikes against suspected Kurdish militant sites in northern Iraq following the attack, which came as parliament prepared to reopen after a long summer recess. Meanwhile, dozens of people with suspected links to the Kurdish militants have been detained in a series of raids across Turkey.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says today during a news conference that Turkish intelligence officials have established that the two assailants arrived from Syria where they had been trained. He says Turkey will now target facilities in Syria and Iraq belonging to the PKK or its affiliated Kurdish militia group, People’s Defense Units, or YPG.

“From now on, all infrastructure, superstructure and energy facilities belonging to the PKK or the YPG in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets of our security forces, armed forces and intelligence elements,” Fidan says.

“I advise third parties to stay away from the PKK and YPG and their facilities. Our armed forces’ response to this terrorist attack will be extremely clear and they will regret committing such an act,” Fidan says.