Kurdish rebel group denies Ankara bomb attack

Kurdish rebel group PKK has denied being responsible for a suicide bombing in the Turkish capital Ankara that killed six people and injured dozens, a Kurdish news agency reported today.

A statement by the rebel group’s command, carried by Firat News Agency on its website, said: “We openly declare that we have no involvement and do not approve of this kind of act.”

The separatist group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has denied involvement in similar attacks in the past. In some cases, militants suspected of affiliation with the PKK later claimed responsibility.

Turkish officials said the 28-year-old former convict who blew himself up in a busy Ankara neighbourhood used methods in his attack that were similar to those of a Kurdish rebel group.

Ankara governor Kemal Onal said Tuesday’s suicide bomber, Guven Akkus, had spent two years in prison for hanging illegal posters and resisting police. He did not say what kind of posters they were or if Akkus was affiliated with the PKK.

Last year, a Kurdish militant group, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, claimed responsibility for bombings in tourist resorts after the PKK denied involvement. Turkish authorities insist the two groups are linked.