On 10 October 2015 at 10:04 local time (EEST) in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, two bombs were detonated outside Ankara Central railway station. With a death toll of 109 civilians, the attack surpassed the 2013 Reyhanlı bombings as the deadliest terror attack in Turkish history. Another 500 people were injured. Censorship monitoring group Turkey Blocks identified nationwide slowing of social media services in the aftermath of the blasts, described by rights group Human Rights Watch as an "extrajudicial" measure to restrict independent media coverage of the incident.
The bombs appeared to target a "Labour, Peace and Democracy" rally organised by the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK). The peace march was held to protest against the growing conflict between the Turkish Armed Forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The incident occurred 21 days before the scheduled 1 November general election.
The governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) condemned the attack and called it an attempt to cause division within Turkey. CHP and MHP leaders heavily criticized the government for the security failure, whereas HDP directly blamed the AK Party government for the bombings. Various political parties ended up cancelling their election campaigns while three days of national mourning were declared by the Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.
No organisation has ever claimed responsibility for the attack. The Ankara Attorney General stated that they were investigating the possibility of two cases of suicide bombings. On 19 October, one of the two suicide bombers was officially identified as the younger brother of the perpetrator of the Suruç bombing; both brothers had suspected links to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the ISIL affiliated Dokumacılar group.
Following a suicide bombing in Suruç that killed 33 people on 20 July 2015, the Turkish Armed Forces have been fighting both the Islamic State and a renewed PKK rebellion of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The resumption of the conflict with the PKK resulted in an end to the peace process between Turkey and the PKK, alongside a ceasefire in place since 2012. With airstrikes initially targeting both the PKK and ISIL, later military operations began focusing explicitly on PKK positions in northern Iraq, prompting a surge of counter PKK-related violence in the mainly Kurdish south-east of Turkey. By 7 October, the surge in violence since July had led to the deaths of 141 soldiers and 1,740 militants, leading to several pro-government commentators to claim that the PKK was close to defeat. However, the large number of soldiers killed also contributed to civil unrest in other parts of the country, with attacks by Turkish nationalists taking place against the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters. Many politicians and commentators alleged that the country was close to civil war.
The increase in violence came shortly after the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) lost its majority in Parliament after 13 years of government alone in the June 2015 election. When the attacks took place, the preceding AK Party government led by Ahmet Davutoğlu remained in power until a new coalition government could be formed, with an interim election government also headed by Davutoğlu taking office on 28 August 2015 after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for a new election. Critics have accused the AK Party of trying to regain nationalist voters back from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) by purposely ending the solution process and also trying to reduce turnout in the HDP electoral strongholds in the south-east by creating unrest there. Concern had been raised about whether an election could be securely conducted amid the violence in the region.
The explosions occurred shortly before a 'Labour, Peace and Democracy' rally supported by the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) was due to take place. The rally was scheduled in Sıhhiye Square, the railways overpass bridge was the gathering area. It was reported that many attendants that were present in preparation for the rally were supporters of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), with the rally area containing numerous HDP, Labour Party (EMEP), and Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF) flags.
On 10 October 2015, the first bomb exploded at around 10:04 local time (EEST), while rally participants were repeatedly saying "Bu meydan kanlı meydan". The second bomb exploded a few seconds later. It was also observed that the bombings were in close proximity of the National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) headquarters. Shortly after the bombing, security forces cleared the area in case of a third and fourth bomb.
On the day of the blasts, the initial death toll was reported as 86, along with 186 wounded. Next day, the total number of deaths was announced as 97. According to the prime minister's statement on 14 October, 99 people were killed in total. The number increased in the following days, as people in the hospitals succumbed to their wounds, to 100 and to 102.
The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) made independent claims, reporting that 97 died and over 400 people had been injured, which they later updated to 105, and 106.
International media speak of 109 deaths and 508 injured.
The pro-Kurdish HDP party claimed the first day that the number of deaths was 128, but after a few days retracted the statement and apologised for the misleading claim.
The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) announced a temporary ban on all press coverage of the bombings following a request by the Prime Ministry. Monitoring group Turkey Blocks identified intentional slowing, or throttling, of the Twitter and Facebook social networks beginning some hours after the attack. An official claimed at the time that internet problems were "due to heavy use", although the practice of internet throttling for "peace and order" became commonplace in the following months and was ultimately recognized by the government and brought into law.
Witnesses at the scene told the media that the police began using tear gas shortly after the bombs went off, while stopping ambulances from getting through. Angry people tried to attack police cars after the blast, with the HDP claiming that the police attacked people carrying the injured to safety.
Shortly after the bombings, the Minister of Health Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, the Minister of the Interior Selami Altınok, and the Minister of Justice Kenan İpek visited the scene to carry out investigations. However, they were met by protestors who chanted anti-AKP slogans and were forced to leave the scene less than one minute after arriving. The Ankara Attorney General announced that they were investigating the possibility of two suicide bombers, while the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) stated that there would be delays to train services passing through the Ankara Central railway station.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu cancelled all of his prior engagements and stated that he would halt his election campaign for three days. He met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who also cancelled his engagements in Istanbul following the incident. The Prime Minister later held a security summit, which was attended by Deputy Prime Ministers Yalçın Akdoğan, Numan Kurtulmuş, and Tuğrul Türkeş, along with National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) undersecretary Hakan Fidan, Interior Minister Selami Altınok, Justice Minister Kenan İpek, the Governor of Ankara Mehmet Kılıçlar, the General Director of Security Celalettin Lekesiz, and several other senior civil servants working for the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Health.