“Turkish people are not the direct target of TAK,” reads the group’s statement published on their website on Sunday.
“But President Apo’s captivity continues, AKP-Turkish Republic fascism tortures mothers and humiliates the dead bodies of young girls, and the children are killed. While this is happening, you cannot expect a comfortable life in Turkey,” TAK continued, referring to imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, affectionately known as Apo, and the ruling party of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
TAK vowed to strangle fascism in Turkey, warning that every drop of blood shed by their comrades will only inspire new actions from the group. “We will be the winner of this terrible war.”
Of the 38 killed in the attack, 30 were police.
TAK appeared on the scene in mid-2004. Little is known about them but they claim Ocalan as leader and state that they severed ties with the PKK because they could no longer accept what they call the “passive struggle methods” of the PKK.
They have claimed responsibility for several attacks this year including bombings in Ankara in February that killed 28 and in March that killed 37, and a motorbike attack in Istanbul in October that wounded 10.
TAK have stated that they are engaged in a “War of Taking Revenge” against Turkish forces who have been fighting a renewed conflict with the PKK for the past year and a half.
