Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq late last night “neutralized” many Kurdish militants and destroyed their warehouses and shelters, Turkey’s defense ministry said, hours after the Kurdish group claimed responsibility for yesterday’s suicide attack in Ankara.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to the Turkish government, two terrorists launched a bomb attack in front of the entrance gate of the Interior Ministry’s General Directorate of Security in Ankara yesterday morning. One of the two attackers blew himself up and the other was killed with a bullet to the head. Two police officers were injured, but their lives are not in danger, as Minister of the Interior Ali Gerlikaya stated yesterday.

One of the attackers was killed by the blast and authorities killed the second, the interior minister announced.

The attack in the Ataturk Quarter is the first in Ankara since 2016, when a series of deadly attacks rocked the country and coincides with the start of the new parliamentary term.

The explosion rocked the district where ministries are located and is close to the parliament.

“A total of 20 targets were destroyed, including caves, shelters and warehouses used by the separatist terrorist group,” the defense ministry said, adding that many militants were “neutralized” — that is, killed.

The operations were conducted in the northern Iraqi regions of Metina, Hakurk, Qandil and Gara at 9 pm and all measures were taken to avoid negative impacts on civilians and the environment, the ministry said.

On Sunday, security camera footage obtained by Reuters showed a vehicle pulling up in front of the interior ministry’s main gate and one of the occupants walking hurriedly towards the building, followed by an explosion. The other remained on the road.

The ANF News website, which is affiliated with the PKK, cited a statement from the organization that said a group from the Order of the Immortals carried out the attack.

The PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU.

Video taken after the attack shows a Renault van at the scene of the blast with broken windows and open doors, and debris, soldiers, ambulances, fire engines and armored vehicles surrounding it.

A senior Turkish official told Reuters the attackers had stolen the car after previously killing its driver in Kayseri, a town 260 kilometers southeast of Ankara.