A deadly explosion in close proximity to the Turkish parliament building in Ankara killed at least 28 and injured 61 people during rush hour on February 17th, said Turkey’s deputy prime minister. The explosion in Ankara was followed shortly afterwards by another bomb attack at 8.30am on February 18th against a Turkish military convoy in Diyarbakir, a Kurdish city in southeastern Turkey.

The target of the explosion in Ankara was a bus carrying military personnel, and a Syrian national is suspected of setting off the car bomb. Social media users in the Turkish capital reported that they heard a loud noise, witnessed a massive plume of smoke rising from the area and noticed several helicopters circling above Eskisehir Avenue.

Turkish Cypriots are being marked safe by Facebook’s Safety Tool.

There has been no claim of responsibility yet, however many Turkish officials suspect the ethnic minority Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for the attack, while others have pointed their finger at ISIS.

Turkey started shelling YPG Kurdish fighters in northern Syria last week, while cracking down on Kurdish rebels on its own soil. The latest attack on Turkey’s military threatens an escalation of the war between the Kurds and Turkish forces to the extent of all-out civil war. This would significantly de-stabilise the region.

According to reports, Turkish President Erdogan has postponed his upcoming visit to Azerbaijan and Turkish Prime Minister has canceled his trip to Brussels which was scheduled for next Wednesday.

Erdogan has threatened retaliation against the Kurds.