February 18, 2016•Update: February 18, 2016
ANKARA
Some 81 people have been affected by the Ankara terror attacks, the Turkish Health Ministry has announced.
So far, 59 people have been discharged from the hospital.
"Twenty-two people still remain at the hospital, including seven under treatment in the intensive care unit," said the ministry in a statement Thursday afternoon.
PKK-affiliated terrorists exploded a car bomb in the Turkish capital near military vehicles carrying personnel on Wednesday evening, killing at least 28 people, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced earlier on Thursday.
Twenty of the dead are Turkish soldiers, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed later.
In remarks to press at the Turkish General Staff headquarters, Davutoglu revealed that the attack was carried out jointly by a Syrian-national YPG member and PKK members based in Turkey.
The deadly blast occurred during the evening rush hour on Merasim Street, which connects Dikmen Street to Inonu Boulevard, which is close to the Turkish General Staff and parliament buildings.
Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala announced later in the day that at least 14 people suspected to be linked to the attack had been apprehended in simultaneous operations carried out in seven provinces (Istanbul, Adana, Bolu, Tekirdag, Izmir, Ankara and Diyarbakir), and some have been taken to Ankara.
"A multi-pronged investigation continues," added the interior minister.
As part of the ongoing probe, anti-terror police in Izmir province said they detained four suspects after finding out that the vehicle used in the car bomb attack was rented out in the western province. A fake driving license and a credit card bearing a false identity were used to obtain the car, which had false license plate at the time of the explosion.
Four detained people working for the rental company in Karabaglar district have been taken into custody.
The company officials told police that they had reported their car stolen -- a sport compact car -- on Jan. 11 after the renter did not return it.
Another four suspects were apprehended in Istanbul later in the day. They reportedly told police that they sold the rental car -- after changing the license plates -- to another individual in Diyarbakir, according to Istanbul police.
Meanwhile, Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters Thursday that security measures had been amped up in the city.
"We have maximized the security measures in Istanbul," he said.
The Turkish capital Ankara was targeted by twin suicide bombings on Oct. 10, when 103 people were killed in an attack on protesters gathering outside the city’s main train station for a peace rally. The attack was the deadliest in modern Turkish history and has been attributed to Daesh.
Istanbul’s historical district Fatih was also hit by a suicide bomber last month. The Jan. 12 suicide attack that killed 11 people -- mostly Germans -- occurred in the city’s tourist hub Sultanahmet, home to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
