RIYADH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Monday condemned the terrorist attack in Ankara in which 36 people were killed late on Sunday.
In a cable of condolences sent to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, King Salman said: "We learned with grief about the terrorist attack that took place in Ankara which resulted in casualties. As we strongly condemn these criminal acts, which is contrary to all human values and ethical principles, we, on behalf of the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, condole your excellency, the families of the victims and the brotherly Turkish people, praying to Allah Almighty for bestowing His mercy upon the victims and for a speedy recovery for the injured."
Similar cables of condolences were sent by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, and Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense.
The Crown Prince and the Deputy Crown Prince also strongly condemn the attacks.
Meanwhile, Turkish warplanes pounded Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq Monday.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest carnage, which reduced cars and buses to charred hulks on a busy road in the heart of the city, wounding more than 120 people.
But Ankara believes one of the bombers was a woman who had ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, a Turkish official told AFP on Monday.
Hours after the attack, Turkish F-16 and F-4 fighter bombers hit arms depots and shelters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the mountainous Kandil and Gara regions in northern Iraq, the army said, quoted by the state-run Anatolia news agency.
The strikes came as the government announced three more deaths overnight from Sunday's huge explosion at a bus stop near a busy square in central Ankara.
"As of this morning... we lost three more citizens in hospital," Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said in televised comments.
He gave an overall toll of 37, but said this included at least one attacker and possibly two.
By Monday morning, the area was locked down under heavy security, with armed police standing guard and forensic experts picking through the scene.
The military said the PKK targets were hit "with precision", with a spokesman for the rebels confirming the strikes and saying that so far, there was no clear picture of the damage caused.
Sunday's attack bore similarities to another suicide car bombing in Ankara on February 17 which targeted military personnel and killed 29 people.
That attack was claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), linked to the PKK, which said it was revenge for operations by the Turkish military in the southeast of the country.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey had "concrete information" on the group behind the attack, saying results from inquiry would be made public soon.
"One attacker is believed to be a woman with links to the PKK," a Turkish official told AFP on Monday, without giving further details.
Officials say Sunday's attackers deliberately targeted the bus stop, which is close to Kizilay square, a bustling commercial area and local transport hub near the parliament, prime minister's office and foreign embassies.
Turkey has been hit by a string of major attacks since the middle of last year, most of them blamed on the Daesh group. Three of them have targeted Ankara, including a double suicide bombing in October that left 103 people dead.
As recently as Friday, the US embassy issued a warning about a possible plot to attack central Ankara, advising American citizens to avoid the area.
The timing of Sunday's attack is awkward for Ankara, coming as it seeks to persuade the European Union to speed up its application to join the bloc. — Agencies
