Turkey Bombs Kurdish Bases in Iraq After Suicide Bomber Targets the Capital

Turkey bombed suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq on Sunday following a suicide bombing attack on the interior ministry in the Turkish capital, officials said. 

The defense ministry said it had “destroyed” 20 targets associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, including caves, shelters and depots. A large number of PKK operatives were "neutralized" in the strikes, the ministry said.

The air attacks came after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near an entrance of the ministry responsible for internal security in Ankara, wounding two police officers. A second attacker was shot dead by police.

The PKK claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing. Officials said the two attackers came in a light truck they’d stolen from a veterinarian in central Turkey, 200 miles away, killing the owner with a shot to the head. 

The assault on the interior ministry, not far from parliament, took place hours before Turkey's parliament reopened after a summer break with an address by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"The scoundrels who targeted the peace and security of the citizens could not achieve their goals and they never will," Erdogan said.

The PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.