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WORLD NEWSTuesday 15 March 2016

Police forensic officials work at the Sunday’s explosion site in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, March 14, Yemeni rebels signal openness
2016. A senior government official told The Associated Press that authorities believe the attack to have peace talks with Saudis
was carried out by two bombers, one of them a woman, and was the work of Kurdish militants. It
was the second deadly attack blamed on Kurdish militants in the capital in the past month. AHMED AL-HAJ
Associated Press
(AP Photo) SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Shiite Houthi rebels
on Monday confirmed carrying out a prisoner ex-
Turkey launches airstrikes after bombing change with Saudi Arabia and said they were open
to negotiating a peace deal with the Saudi-led coali-
SUZAN FRASER he said, while a senior gov- ing to deliver on promises. tion that has been fighting them for a year.
Associated Press ernment official has said More than 200 people “We will not turn our backs on any understandings
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — the bomber was a woman. have died in five suicide or initiatives that could lead to the halt of aggression
Turkey lashed out Monday “There are very serious, bombings in Turkey since and lifting the suffering from the Yemeni people,”
at Kurdish targets, bomb- almost-certain indications July that were blamed ei- Saleh al-Sammad, head of the Houthis’ political
ing military positions in that point to the separatist ther on the Kurdish rebels wing, said in a statement posted on his official Face-
northern Iraq and round- terror organization,” Davu- or IS. Sunday’s attack was book page.
ing up dozens of militants toglu said, referring to the the second suicide bomb- He said the exchange of a captive Saudi army of-
at home after a suicide car PKK. ing in the capital: a Feb. ficer for seven fighters earlier this month came as part
bombing in the heart of The attack further compli- 17 attack for which a PKK of an “initial and preliminary” stage of negotiations,
the capital drew the coun- cated Turkey’s place in the offshoot claimed responsi- which would be followed by “gradual steps” if Riyadh
try even deeper into the region as it battles a host of bility killed 29 people. is willing to pursue a deal that would halt its opera-
complex Syrian conflict. enemies across its borders “All five attacks are linked tions.
Prime Minister Ahmet Da- including the Syrian gov- to the fallout of the Syr- Saudi Arabia announced the swap last week without
vutoglu said there were ernment, Kurdish rebels in ian civil war,” said Soner mentioning the Houthis’ involvement.
“strong indications” that both Iraq and Syria, and Cagaptay, a Turkey expert The war pits the Houthis, who control the Yemeni
Sunday’s attack was car- the Islamic State group, at the Washington Institute. capital, Sanaa, against an internationally-recognized
ried out by the rebels of the even after being forced to “Ankara’s ill-executed Syr- government largely confined to the southern city of
Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or absorb 2.7 million refugees ia policy ... has exposed Aden. The government is backed by a loose array
PKK. from the conflict. Turkey to great risks.” of militias as well as the coalition of mainly Gulf Arab
There was no immediate Turkey is also battling the Bill Park, a lecturer on Turk- countries.
claim of responsibility for PKK, a Kurdish group fight- ish foreign policy and se- The fighting has killed more than 6,000 people and
the attack. ing for autonomy in south- curity at King’s College pushed the Arab world’s poorest country to the brink
Davutoglu added that au- eastern Turkey for three London, said Ankara’s ag- of famine. The battle lines have hardly shifted in re-
thorities had detained 11 decades. A fragile, 2½- gression toward the Kurds cent months.
people directly connect- year peace process broke in Syria has angered Kurds A powerful al-Qaida affiliate has meanwhile exploit-
ed to the suicide bombing down in July. Turkey blames inside Turkey and inspired ed the chaos to seize a large swath of territory across
near a line of bus stops that the PKK, saying it was in- attacks. the country’s south and east, while an upstart Islamic
killed 37 people. DNA tests spired by the success of “Bombings in Turkey now State branch has carried out a series of attacks tar-
were underway to identify the Kurdish militia forces in look like a campaign and geting government forces and the Houthis.
the bomber and another Syria against IS in the city of we have to assume that Both groups maintain strongholds in Aden, the first
body believed to be that Kobani and elsewhere. The there will be more,” he city to be fully taken back from the Houthis and the
of a person who assisted, PKK blames Turkey for fail- said. de facto capital of President Abed Rabbo Mansour
Hadi’s government. The extremists’ growing pres-
ence in the city has embarrassed the government
and raised questions about its ability to govern the
country. In recent days the coalition has begun car-
rying out airstrikes against the two groups, causing
thousands of residents to flee.
The conflict is widely seen as a proxy war between
Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran, which sup-
ports the Houthis. The Houthis have always denied
receiving weapons from Iran, and have recently ex-
pressed anger with Tehran, accusing it of exploiting
the conflict for its own ends.
Earlier Monday, an Emirati fighter jet suffered a “tech-
nical malfunction” and crashed near Aden, killing the
plane’s two pilots, the state-run Saudi Press Agency
said.