Heightened security alert in Ankara Turkey

RPS can now report that security was heightened throughout Turkey's capital, Ankara, on 21 November, last Thursday, after an someone claiming to be a suicide bomber attempted to breach security at the prime minister's office.

Security officers at the building, located on Vekaletler Avenue, fired several warning shots before seizing the individual; however, no explosives were found on the assailant who is believed to be mentally unstable.

Travellers to Turkey should note that the threat from terrorism in Turkey is rated as high and incidents are periodically reported.

Kurdish separatist groups, including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), pose the primary threat and have carried out numerous terrorist attacks across the country in the past. However, Kurdish separatists are not believed to have carried out any significant attacks in 2013 amid ongoing talks between the government and the PKK's imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, and following a ceasefire called on 23 March.

A secondary threat stems from extreme leftist groups, most notably the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), which carried out a suicide bombing targeting the US Embassy in Ankara's Kavaklidere area on 1 February of this year, killing one person and wounding several others. The group was also implicated in a grenade attack targeting a building used for social events by the police in the capital's Dikmen area on 20 September; no casualties were reported.

Further small-scale bombings are possible in urban centres and Ankara in particular in the short-term. As such, travellers throughout Turkey are advised to exercise heightened security awareness and should report all suspicious packages, people and/or behaviour to the relevant authorities immediately.

Thanks to Red24 for this update

Photo: tr.wikipedia.org