Who Was Behind Turkey Bus Blast? President Erdoğan Blames Kurdish Fighters For Kayseri Attack That Killed 13 Soldiers

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blamed members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for Saturday’s blast in Kayseri city near a university. The bombing killed 13 soldiers and wounded 56 people, according to local officials.

No group has claimed responsibility yet for the incident. However, Erdoğan held Kurdish fighters responsible for the attack outside Erciyes University. He also said the incident resembled last week’s attack outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul that killed 44 people and injured over 150 others.

“The style and goals of the attacks clearly show the aim of the separatist terrorist organization is to trip up Turkey, cut its strength and have it focus its energy and forces elsewhere,” Erdoğan said, referring to PKK. “We know that these attacks we are being subjected to are not independent from the developments in our region, especially in Iraq and Syria.”

Saturday’s explosion hit a bus carrying Turkish soldiers when it stopped at a red light near the university. Kayseri is a major city and an important industrial hub in the central part of the country, and is generally a peaceful place.

The bombing came at a time when tensions between the government and PKK members have grown. PKK, which is banned in Turkey, has been demanding autonomy for the Kurdish minority. Several blasts across the country — mostly in the southeast Turkey — have been blamed on the Kurdish fighters.

Ankara also witnessed a failed military coup attempt in July when a faction of rebel military officers attacked government building, leaving 240 people dead. The government blamed the attempt on U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen and his supporters. Over 100,000 military officials and public servants, including judges, police, teachers and soldiers were suspended or fired after the incident.

Turkish forces have also been fighting the Islamic State group, which has carried out attacks in the country — most recently a bombing at a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep city.