Turkey says it has carried out a number of air strikes on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, hours after a suicide blast hit the interior ministry, writes BBC.

The government said 20 targets were destroyed and many militants from the banned PKK rebel group “neutralized”.

The PKK said Sunday morning’s bombing in the capital, Ankara, was carried out by a group linked to them, a member of which blew himself up. A second attacker was killed by police and two police officers were injured. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is considered a terror group in Turkey, the EU, UK and US.

Sunday’s air strikes targeted caves, depots and bunkers used by the PKK, Turkey’s defence ministry said.

AFP quoted it as saying the operation was “to neutralise the PKK and other terrorist elements, prevent terrorist attacks from northern Iraq against our population and our law enforcement agencies, and ensure the security of our borders”.

The Kurdish news agency Rudaw said the strikes targeted Mount Qandil near the Iranian border, believed to be a PKK stronghold. They were carried out following an explosion on Ankara"s Ataturk Boulevard that happened hours before parliament was due to reconvene after a summer break.