Ankara bombers were PKK members, had links with the group: security sources

Two members of the PKK terrorist organization are the suspected perpetrators of a car bombing that killed 37 people in the Turkish capital Ankara, security officials said on Monday.

Evidence has been obtained that one of the bombers (named Seher Çağla Demir) was a female member of the PKK who joined the militant group in 2013, the security officials stated. She was born in 1992 and from the eastern Turkish city of Kars, they said.

The other suspected bomber was a male Turkish citizen with links to the PKK, the security official said.

There has not been any claim of responsibility for the bombing and the government has said it will identify who was behind the attack once investigations are completed.

Meanwhile, police detained 10 people in southeastern Şanlıurfa province on Monday including the suicide bomber(s)'s family members. The other suspects were detained in connection with the vehicle used in the attack. It cited security forces as saying the suspects were car showroom employees who played a role in selling the vehicle. The suspects were to be taken to Ankara, it added.

The attack, which tore through a crowded transport hub a few hundred meters (yards) from the Justice and Interior Ministries on Sunday evening, was the second such bombing in the administrative heart of the city in under a month.

Meanwhile, police detained six people in southeastern Şanlıurfa province on Monday in connection with the vehicle used in the attack, state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported. The suspects were to be taken to Ankara, it added.

In its armed campaign in Turkey, the PKK has historically struck directly at the security forces and says it does not target civilians. A direct claim of responsibility for Sunday's bombing would indicate a major tactical shift.

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed responsibility for the previous car bombing, just a few blocks away, on Feb. 17. TAK says it has split from the PKK, although experts say the two organizations are affiliated.

Following the attack, Turkish warplanes bombed camps belonging to the PKK in northern Iraq early on Monday, the army said.

At least 37 people died from Sunday's blast, the health minister said, adding 71 people were still being treated in hospital. Of those, 15 were in serious condition, he said.