ANKARA (Sputnik) — On Saturday, two bombs exploded near the Vodafone Arena Stadium in the Turkish largest city, killing at least 44 people, mostly police officers, and injuring about 150. The country's authorities claimed that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was tied with the twin blast.
"I announce a national mobilization. Henceforth, neither terrorists nor their supporters will have a minute of peace. I appeal to our security forces: the whole country, all the citizens are with you against terrorists," Erdogan said at a meeting with the heads of rural administrative authorities in Ankara.
Erdogan noted that Turkey is currently fighting with PKK, the Daesh jihadist group, outlawed in many countries including the United States and Russia, and the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization (FETO) accused of organizing a failed coup in July.
Erdogan noted that "certain groups" wanted to force Turkey not to intervene in the situation in the region and concentrate on domestic affairs.
On July 15, a military coup attempt took place in Turkey. Ankara accused Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who has been living in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his followers of playing a key role in the coup. Since July, Turkey has arrested hundreds of military personnel, activists and journalists on suspicion of links with Gulen.
