Police: Bomber at U.S. Embassy in Turkey with leftist group

Turkish police officers react after an explosion at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara Friday, February 1, in this picture provided by Milliyet Daily Newspaper.
U.S. Embassy in Turkey bombed

(CNN) -- Turkish officials say a suicide bomber belonging to a radical leftist organization blew himself up just outside the U.S. Embassy in Ankara on Friday.

The blast killed a Turkish security guard and wounded a journalist. A senior U.S. official said no Americans were wounded.

Istanbul police identified the bomber as Ecevit Shanli, a member of DHKP-C, a Marxist Leninist terror group.

Little information is being released about the bomber or the group, but the specter of this kind of attack has once again put a spotlight on security at U.S. posts around the globe.

What is the DHKP-C?

The attack in Turkey came after a rash of attacks at U.S. embassies last September in Cairo, Egypt, Tunisia and, most deadly, in Libya. The attack in Benghazi killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Earlier Friday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that a "terrorist blast" happened at 1:13 p.m. at a checkpoint on the perimeter of the embassy.

"We are working closely with the Turkish national police to make a full assessment of the damage and the casualties, and to begin an investigation," she said.

The bomber arrived first in the rear access of the building and then went to the first checkpoint, Nuland said, where IDs are checked.

"You have to go through security, and he was wearing a suicide vest," Nuland said. "He exploded at the guard ... the one on his side of the security barrier was killed."

Two other guards on the other side of the glass survived, she said.

The FBI will investigate the bombing along with local authorities, a U.S. law enforcement official told CNN. The FBI has a legal attache office in Ankara, the FBI's website says.

The blast happened on the same day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was leaving her job. Sen. John Kerry will fill that role.

Republican Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement saying that Friday's bombing is "yet another stark reminder of the constant terrorist threat against U.S. facilities, personnel and interests abroad."

"Coming after Benghazi, it underscores the need for a comprehensive review of security at our diplomatic posts," his statement said. "The committee stands ready to assist the State Department in protecting our diplomats."

More questions than answers

Hasan Selim Ozertem, a security expert at the International Strategic Research Organization in Ankara, said the attack could be related to arrests of a number of DHKP-C members two weeks ago.

Since the beginning of January, 85 members of the group have been arrested, he said, adding that Turkish police have been closely focusing on the group over the past five years. The DHKP-C was established in the 1970s.

Ozertem said that one plausible theory is the group is trying to send a message to Turkish authorities by attacking the U.S. Embassy because the building is near the Turkish parliament.

DHKP-C has a track record as a "subcontractor" group for other militant outfits, but it is also believed to have relationships with states in the region such as Syria and Iran, Ozertem said. The group also has a relationship with the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party, which has been warring with the Turkish government for some time.

Ozertem said that the attack could be linked to negotiations between the PKK and Turkish government, or that Syria or Iran could be involved considering the recent deployment of Patriot missiles in Turkey as a defense against possible missiles from Syria. He said he is unaware of any direct link between DHKP-C and al Qaeda.

At the chaotic scene at the embassy, there were conflicting accounts of how many people were wounded.

Ankara police and health officials said two were injured, while Ankara Gov. Aladdin Yuksel said one person was hurt.

Images from CNN sister network CNN Turk showed a hole in what appeared to be a building that is part of the outer gate of the embassy compound, in a very well-protected area of Ankara. A photograph of a woman who CNN was told worked for a Turkish news outlet was published Friday. Carried away on a stretcher, she appeared to be bleeding.

The gated complex includes blast doors, reinforced windows and a series of metal detectors that visitors must navigate before reaching embassy offices.

Vice President Joe Biden, in Europe to discuss issues such as Syria's civil war, spoke to reporters along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel said she is "very sad that there was an assault on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara. ... I want to send my condolences to everyone involved."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned the attack and sent condolences.

Terror in Turkey

Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the blast was an attack "against the peace and welfare of our country."

Turkey has seen numerous acts of political violence in the past from groups such as leftist anarchists, Kurdish separatists, Islamists and al Qaeda. Turkey has also backed rebels in neighboring Syria, and some violence from that conflict has spilled over the border.

The explosion occurred as about 400 U.S. military personnel are moving Patriot missile defense equipment to a Turkish base as part of an effort to defend the country from possible attack from Syria.

The first battery became operational last Saturday in the city of Adana, NATO said, and more equipment arrived Wednesday in the port city of Iskenderun.

The British Embassy in Ankara strongly urged citizens to avoid areas around the U.S. Embassy.

The U.S. Embassy posted a message on its website thanking "the Turkish government, the media, and members of the public for their expressions of solidarity and outrage over the incident."

While the U.S. Embassy has not seen this kind of incident in decades, in 2008 three police officers died in a shootout with assailants outside the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul.

Three attackers died in the incident, which the U.S. ambassador at the time called "an obvious act of terrorism." One of the attackers in that incident was believed to have trained with al Qaeda in Pakistan's Waziristan region.

Source http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/01/world/europe/turkey-embassy-explosion/index.html