*Updated at 18:55 (CET)
The People’s Defence Centre (HSM), an armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has confirmed that a group known as the ‘Immortals Battalion’ was responsible for Sunday’s bombing targeting the Turkish Interior Ministry, the ANF reported.
The attack was described by the HSM as a stark warning against Turkey’s “genocidal and fascist-motivated crimes”.
“This action is an act of legitimate defence against the disregard of human rights that are being trampled on against national and international laws; against the inhuman practice and policy of isolation that is being implemented in all the jails of Turkey and Kurdistan; against the use of chemical weapons against our guerrilla forces despite the universal validity of the Chemical Weapons Convention; against the plunder of our nature and the ecocide in Kurdistan; against the oppression of the Kurdish people and all democratic circles,” said the HSM in its statement.
The HSM emphasised that while the operation could have resulted in a different outcome had they altered the timing, their primary goal was to convey a message and issue a grave warning.
The HSM also condemned the Turkish government for allegedly denying the losses caused by the attack, accusing it of showing ‘great disrespect to the people and public opinion’. Following the attack, Turkish officials said that two police officers had suffered minor injuries in the incident.
The statement concluded with a message, declaring: “If the AKP/MHP regime does not stop its genocidal and fascist-motivated crimes, legitimate actions in the sense of revolutionary justice will continue.”