March 17, 2016: The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) militant group has officially claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Ankara, Turkey’s capital that killed 37 people.
TAK claimed responsibility in a statement posted online terming the bombing as revenge for security operations against the Kurdish southeastern area that started in July 2015 following the collapse of a ceasefire agreement between the fighters and the Turkish government.
TAK has previously claimed responsibility of at least 3 bomb attacks in Ankara in a span of the last 5 months igniting security fears of more lethal and frequent attacks in Ankara and its outskirts.
TAK is said to have split from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Experts who follow Kurdish militants say the groups retain ties. At least 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK began its fight for Kurdish autonomy in the southeast three decades ago.
