Kurdish militants threaten more bombs after Ankara
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:59 GMT
ISTANBUL, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A group connected to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas claimed responsibility on Thursday for a car bomb that killed three people in central Ankara and it threatened more attacks on Turkish cities.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) said in a statement that Tuesday's attack on the capital was the "beginning of a series of attacks".
It also said it was behind a recent attack in Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast, where several tourists were wounded by a small explosion on a beach.
"We, as TAK, claim responsibility for actions in Ankara and Antalya," the statement said. "Big Turkish cities will be our main targets."
Last year TAK claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a military bus that killed five people, and a suicide bomb attack that wounded 32 people in Istanbul.
TAK is regarded as close to the PKK, the main KUdish militant group. PKK separatist militants launched a guerrilla campaign against the Turkish state in the 1980s, and more than 40,000 have died in the violence.
During the past month Turkish warplanes have carried out more than 150 air strikes on Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union. (Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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