A prison officer was killed in a bomb attack on a prison bus in Turkey. According to the Turkish Minister of the Interior Süleyman Soylu in the province of Bursa, an employee of a local detention center died in the attack with a package bomb, which was probably placed on the side of the road under a tree and detonated remotely. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke of a “terrorist attack”.
According to the governor of Bursa province, several people on the bus were injured in the attack. The Anadolu news agency spoke of four injuries, but Governor Yakup Canbolat said: “There were almost 30 people in the bus. One person lost their life and nine were injured.” According to Anadolu, the dead man is a 36-year-old prison employee.
The perpetrator is open. Suspicion immediately fell on the pro-Kurdish PKK; the Kurdish Workers’ Party is listed as a terrorist group in Turkey, Europe and the USA. So far, however, neither the PKK nor any other underground group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Terrorist attacks are common in Turkey. The PKK, the organization of the Islamic preacher Fetullah Gülen known as Fetö, or the radical Islamic “Islamic State” are often held responsible. There are occasional assassinations by ultra-left groups.
Turkey launched an offensive against the PKK in northern Iraq on Monday
According to the governor of Bursa, however, there is “not enough clear information” about whether the PKK had anything to do with the attack on the bus. There was immediate speculation that the PKK might be responsible because Turkey launched a renewed offensive against the organization in northern Iraq on Monday. The army used jets, helicopters and drones, as well as commando soldiers, against the PKK camps and weapons depots hidden in the mountains. This had led to protests by the Iraqi President in Baghdad.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said at the start of the military operation that it was aimed both at the fighters of the Turkish PKK hiding in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq and at members of the Syrian PKK offshoot YPG. “The operation is proceeding successfully. The goals set for the first phase have been achieved,” said Akar. The mission is to prevent a major terrorist attack planned by the PKK.