ANKARA - Ankara Governor Kemal Onal said on Wednesday that a male suicide bomber blew himself up at the busy Anafartalar Shopping Mall in Ankara's one of commercial neighborhoods on Tuesday.
Holding a news conference after attending a meeting at the Prime Ministry Office, Onal said, "6 people were killed and 91 others were injured in yesterday's heinous attack outside one of the oldest shopping malls in the capital city."
"Security forces collected three truckloads of evidence at the scene of the attack. During criminal examinations, remains of a person except for those who were killed or injured in the explosion, were identified. DNA and fingerprint analyses showed that those parts belonged to a man who had two separate criminal records and spent two years in prison for hanging illegal posters, resisting police and being member of an illegal organization. The suicide bomber was identified as Guven Akkus, who was born in 1979. Further analyses on his cloths unveiled that he detonated the plastic explosives wrapped on his body," he said.
Onal stressed that the type of the explosive and the modus operandi of the attack were similar to those carried out by the separatist terrorist organization.
"This heinous attack staged during evening rush hour outside one of the oldest shopping centers in the commercial neighborhood of Ulus proved once again that terrorism is a crime against humanity and it cannot have any legitimate target," he said.
"Our only solace is that the responsible of such a complicated attack was identified by the Turkish police in a short period of time. Those who are behind this brutal act will never reach their targets as a result of the will of our nation and the determination of our state and government," he said.
Governor Onal offered his condolences to those who lost their lives in the attack, adding that the Prime Ministry Office would meet the damage suffered by shop owners at the shopping mall.