A possible terrorist attack has just taken place in Turkey, after a car exploded in the capital of Ankara, killing at least 37 people.
The attack occurred on Sunday (March 13th) in Gueven Park in the Kizilay district, and it is thought to have involved two fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
While no one has taken responsibility for the bomb, security officials told Reuters a woman from the PKK was one of the suspected attackers.
The PKK has a long history of violence against the Turkish government, fighting for independence in the south-east of the country.
Director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy Soner Cagaptay was reported by the Wall Street Journal as saying: “I am really worried. This already looks like a retaliatory war likely to escalate.”
This is the second car bomb to occur in Turkey within a month, with the military group now targeting civilians.
Despite the PKK holding a ceasefire with the government for two and a half years, this came to an end in July 2015 subsequently leading to a series of attacks. The battle between the two forces has claimed more than 40,000 lives over the last three decades and the recent bombing is thought to have injured more than 120 people.
In response to the bomb, Turkey has launched warplane strikes against Kurdish militant camps in northern Iraq, where PKK has its bases.
Those in Turkey will no doubt be trying to protect themselves as much as possible if the violence escalates. One way to do this is to install blast protection window film from Solartek Films, which reduces the impact of shattering glass during an explosion.
By keeping the glass holding together on the film, this limits the number of people injured or killed by flying debris.
