Fear on the streets of Turkey: PKK claims responsibility for bomb which killed 37... and threatens more attacks

Photo: AFP/Getty ImagesA group linked to the PKK claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in the Turkish capital which killed 37

Germany shuts embassies

    Germany has shut its embassy in Ankara and general consulate in Istanbul
    Comes as group linked to PKK claims it carried out bomb attack in Ankara
    The deadly blast at a crowded transport hub claimed the lives of 37 people
     The Kurdistan Free Hawks have threatned to attack security forces again 

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Photo: Reuters/Osman OrsalA police officer stands guard outside the German consulate in Istanbul. 
Germany has shut its embassy in Ankara amid warnings of an imminent attack as a group linked to the PKK claimed responsibility for a bomb in the Turkish capital which killed 37.

The Kurdistan Free Hawks (TAK) said it carried out the suicide blast on Sunday at a crowded public transport hub in the city - and said it would attack security forces again.

It comes as Germany closed its embassy in Ankara and its general consulate in Istanbul due to indications that an attack could be imminent while a German school in Istanbul was also shut due to an 'unconfirmed warning'. 

TAK had previously claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Ankara last month that killed 29 people. 

Ankara has now been hit by three bombings in a space of five months, ratcheting up security fears across the city and Turkey.

In a statement posted online, the group described the latest car bombing as revenge for security operations in the mainly Kurdish southeast that have been under way since July, in which hundreds of civilians, security forces and militants have been killed.

TAK said it had not intended to kill civilians and was targeting security forces. It said a large number of civilians had been killed after police intervened, without explaining exactly how, and warned that further civilian deaths were 'inevitable'.

Photo: Getty Images
The Kurdistan Free Hawks (TAK) said it carried out the suicide blast on Sunday at a crowded public transport hub in the city - and said it would attack security forces again

TAK says it split off from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), although experts who follow Kurdish militants say the groups retain ties. 

Turkey's Interior Ministry had already identified the suicide bomber as Seher Cagla Demir, saying she is believed to have received training from the Syria-based Kurdish rebels, YPG.

TAK described her as 'out comrade' and confirmed she had led a team of attackers, CNN reports. 

At least 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK began its fight for Kurdish autonomy in the southeast three decades ago.

The increased violence in Turkey has also put strain on the NATO member's relationship with the United States, which is supporting a Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

Turkey says the Syrian Kurdish fighters have links to the PKK. Washington considers the PKK a terrorist group, but not the YPG.

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