Turkey’s Erdogan says despite denials, Syrian Kurdish PYD behind Ankara attacks

Firefighters work at a scene of fire from an explosion in Ankara, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016.

In addition to those killed, more than 60 people were injured in the blast, which struck close to both a military headquarters and Turkey’s parliament building, as the Two-Way reported.

Those attacks were blamed on Islamic State, as were two other deadly bombings in the country’s Kurdish-dominated south-east in 2015.

Turkey also has been housing tens of thousands of refugees from the Syrian war, including many who have streamed to the border in recent weeks amid airstrikes and ground fighting in northern Syria near Aleppo.

Washington also condemned the attack, according to a statement by Mark Toner, deputy spokesman of the U.S. State Department.

The opposition and the Turkish government blame the Kurdish militias of carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing of Arab-inhabited villages in a bid to carve a fiefdom in Syria’s north.

In an apparent reference to the U.S., Davutoglu called on allies to stop its support for the Syrian Kurdish group.

“It has been revealed that a YPG member who infiltrated from Syria with members of the separatist terror organization conducted this attack”, Davutoglu said.

Fourteen people had been arrested in connection with the Ankara bombing, he said, adding the number was likely to rise, according to Anadolu.

He insisted that the faction is a terrorist group. “Despite the fact that their leader says they have nothing to do with this, the information and documents obtained by our interior ministry and all our intelligence organisations shows that [the attack] was theirs”, he said. Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak previously identified the bomber as Salih Necar, a registered Syrian refugee in Turkey.

“A direct link between the attack and the YPG has been established”, Davutoglu said. “It is out of the question for us to excuse a terror organization that threatens the capital of our country”. It has been pressing its ally, the United States, to recognize the Syrian Kurdish forces as terrorists.

The rebel fighters, with weapons and vehicles, have been covertly escorted across the border by Turkish forces over several nights, before heading into the embattled rebel stronghold of Azaz, the sources said.

The UN SC’s Permanent five (P5) includes the US, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

He also denied claims the YPG was firing into Turkey. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she wasn’t authorized to talk publicly on the issue.

Davutoglu said: “The attack was carried out by the PKK together with a person who sneaked into Turkey from Syria”, referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK.

The Syrian war is raging along Turkey’s southern border. “Turkey reserves the right to take any measure against the Syrian regime”.

Turkey carried out strikes on PKK forces in north Iraq late on Wednesday, reportedly targeting some 70 militants.

The meeting with ambassadors came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu vowed to launch a diplomatic push to steer Turkey’s allies closer to its position on the YPG.

In October, suicide bombings blamed on IS targeted a peace rally outside the main train station in Ankara, killing 102 people in Turkey’s deadliest attack in years.