plawolf
Lieutenant General
Well that didn't take long at all. Turkey blame Ankara bombing on YPG Syrian Kurds.
I can't imagine anyone is surprised by the Turkish accusation or Kurdish denial.
All those Turkish troops who had been massing for weeks along the boarder now have an excuse, sorry I mean reason, to cross into Syria.
Its all so depressingly predictable.
Ankara blast: Turkey PM says Syria Kurds to blame
Turkey's prime minister says the deadly bombing in Ankara was carried out by Kurdish YPG militia based in Syria, and nine people have been arrested.
Ahmet Davutoglu said the fighters worked in co-operation with militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey.
The YPG has denied any involvement in the attack.
Meanwhile, a military convoy in south-east Turkey has been hit by a bomb, killing at least six troops.
Mourning Ankara's dead
Wednesday's bombing in Ankara targeted a military convoy as it passed close to key government buildings. Twenty-eight people were killed and 61 injured.
Mr Davutoglu said 26 of the dead were soldiers. The funerals will be held later on Thursday.
Image copyrightEPA![]()
Image captionA Syrian national has been blamed for the Ankara attack
Image copyrightEPA![]()
Image captionFunerals of those killed in ANkara will take place on Thursday
Mr Davutoglu named the Ankara bomber as Salih Necar, a Syrian national and member of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
"A direct link between the attack and the YPG has been established," he said. He went on to say the attack was carried out with logistical support from PKK militants inside Turkey.
Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group, but its allies, including the United States, back the YPG, in its fight against so-called Islamic State (IS).
Mr Davutoglu said the bombing in Ankara proved the YPG is a terrorist group, and said he expects co-operation from Turkey's allies in tackling them.
The Syrian Kurdish PYD party, to whom the YPG is affiliated, said it "completely refuted" the claims of its involvement.
Saleh Muslim, co-chair of the party, also denied claims the YPG was firing into Turkey. "They don't consider Turkey as an enemy," he told Reuters news agency.
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Fresh attack on Turkish military
On Thursday morning, reports emerged of a similar attack on a military convoy in the mainly Kurdish south-east of Turkey.
The convoy was travelling between the cities of Diyarbakir and Bingol when it was hit. Reports in Turkey said at least six members of the security forces were killed by a bomb detonated by remote control.
Last month, at least six people died in Diyarbakir . Authorities blamed PKK fighters for the explosion.
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Turkish warplanes strike PKK in Iraq
Turkey has been targeting Kurdish militia groups in both Syria and Iraq for some time now.
But the military said it carried out targeted strikes overnight on around 70 PKK militants, some of them senior commanders, based in the Haftanin region of northern Iraq.
The PKK has been fighting for more autonomy for Kurds within Turkey for more than three decades. A ceasefire in 2013 ended last July when Turkey launched air strikes against PKK camps in northern Iraq.
I can't imagine anyone is surprised by the Turkish accusation or Kurdish denial.
All those Turkish troops who had been massing for weeks along the boarder now have an excuse, sorry I mean reason, to cross into Syria.
Its all so depressingly predictable.