Saleh Najar is the man Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said is responsible for Wednesday night's attacks on Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Najar was born in northern Syria, and according to Turkey's semi-official Anadolu news agency via CNN, has ties to the Kurdish separatist group the YPG.
While three military vehicles were stopped at a traffic light near Turkish Parliament, an explosion hit the three plus a private vehicle. The blast is believed to have come from a rigged vehicle, as HNGN previously reported. Twenty-eight people were killed, and 61 were injured.
The Turkish military confirmed that it began airstrikes on the PKK in northern Iraq. The military was targeting members of the Kurdish militant group, according to CNN.
"Our determination to respond in kind against such attacks against our unity and future from outside and inside is even more strengthened through such attacks," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement, according to CNN. "Turkey will not hesitate to use its right to self-defense anytime, anywhere, and in all situations."
Erdogan cancelled a planned trip to Baku, and Davutoglu cancelled his trip to Brussels soon after the explosion, according to the Associated Press.
No groups came forward initially, and Soner Cagaptay, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy think tank, suggested the possibility of ISIS or PKK, which Turkey considers a terrorist group.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's secretary general, condemned the attacks and said "NATO Allies stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight against terrorism."
Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization number 28, including the 12 founder countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States
