In the hours following the bombing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had already vowed that "terrorists" would never achieve their aims.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, claimed responsibility for the blast. It has waged a deadly insurgency against Ankara for four decades.
The district targeted in the bombing is home to several other ministries and the Turkish parliament, which reopened as planned in the afternoon with an address from Erdogan.
"The villains who threaten the peace and security of citizens have not achieved their objectives and will never achieve them," Erdogan said.
The interior ministry said two attackers had arrived in a commercial vehicle around 9:30 am (0630 GMT) in front of "the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of the Interior, and carried out a bomb attack."
"One of the terrorists blew himself up," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told journalists outside the ministry. "The other was killed by a bullet to the head before he had a chance to blow himself up."
Two police officers were lightly injured in the exchange of fire, but their lives were not in danger, he added.
The Ankara prosecutor's office said it had opened an investigation and banned access to the area. Local media were asked to stop broadcasting images from the scene of the attack.
- North Iraq strikes -
In a statement to the ANF news agency, which is close to the Kurdish movement, the PKK said that "a sacrificial action was carried out against the Turkish Interior Ministry".
On Sunday evening, an official in Iraqi Kurdistan reported Turkish army planes bombing parts of the Bradost region and the village of Badran.
Turkey's defence ministry acknowledged an "air operation" in northern Iraq to "neutralise the PKK".
The ministry said that "20 targets used by terrorists" had been destroyed.
In his opening remarks, Erdogan also slammed the European Union for stalling his country's membership bid, stating that Turkey "no longer expects anything from the European Union, which has kept us waiting at its door for 40 years".
"We have kept all the promises we have made to the EU but they have kept almost none of theirs," he said, adding that he would not "tolerate any new demands or conditions" for his country to join the bloc.
- Sweden NATO bid -
This session of Turkey's parliament must also validate Sweden's entry into the NATO alliance.
Hungary and Turkey in July lifted their vetoes against Sweden's entry into the Atlantic alliance, but have been slow to ratify its membership.
Erdogan indicated in July that ratification by the Turkish parliament would not take place before October, but it is expected to be approved during this parliamentary year.
For months, Erdogan has been putting pressure on Sweden to take action against Koran desecrations that have strained relations between the two countries.
Sweden's prime minister Ulf Kristersson was quick to pledge in a statement that his country "once again confirms its commitment to long-term cooperation with Turkey in the fight against terrorism".
Numerous foreign leaders also voiced support for Turkey after the attack, with messages of support coming from Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States embassy in Ankara.
The Turkish capital has been the scene of several attacks, particularly during the years 2015 and 2016 -- many claimed by the PKK or the Islamic State group.
The PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 in a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
In October 2015 an attack in front of a central station in Ankara claimed by the Islamic State group killed 109 people.
The most recent bomb attack in Turkey was in a shopping street in Istanbul in November 2022, where six were killed and 81 were injured.
Turkey pummels PKK 'targets' in Iraqi Kurdistan
Arbil, Iraq (AFP) Oct 1, 2023 -
Turkey hit several places inside Iraqi Kurdistan with air strikes on Sunday, a local official said, Ankara confirming it had struck "20 targets" it claimed were used by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters.
"Turkish army planes bombed parts... of the Bradost region at around 9:20 pm (1820 GMT), as well as the village of Badran," Ihsan Chelabi, mayor of the town of Sidakan, close to the Turkish and Iranian borders, told AFP.
Turkey's defence ministry acknowledged an "air operation" in northern Iraq to "neutralise the PKK", which is considered a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.
"An air operation was carried out in the regions of Metina, Hakurk, Qandil and Gara, in northern Iraq, on October 1 at 2100," the statement said.
It said the operation was "to neutralise the PKK and other terrorist elements, prevent terrorist attacks from northern Iraq against our population and our law enforcement agencies, and ensure the security of our borders".
The ministry added that "20 targets used by terrorists" had been destroyed.
The strikes came after a PKK suicide bombing in Ankara targeted the police headquarters in the heart of the capital, injuring two people.
Kurdish media outlet Rudaw reported air strikes on the heights of Mount Qandil, traditionally considered a PKK stronghold near the border with Iran.
The presidency of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, which maintains close ties with the Turkish authorities, condemned the "terrorist attack" in Ankara, saying "terrorism and violence represent a serious threat to regional peace and stability".
In Baghdad, the foreign ministry also condemned the "terrorist explosion".
Turkey's military regularly launches ground and air operations against PKK fighters and their positions in northern Iraq, in autonomous Kurdistan and in the mountainous Sinjar region.
Over the past 25 years, Turkey has set up dozens of military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to combat the group.
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