The Kurdish TAK group has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombings in Ankara - and threatened further strikes

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Emergency workers work at the explosion site in Ankara, Turkey March 13, 2016.

REUTERS/Stringer

Emergency workers work at the explosion site in Ankara, Turkey March 13, 2016.

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a militant group active in Turkey, claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack that killed 37 people in the capital Ankara on Sunday, according to a statement on its website.

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The group described the car bombing as "vengeful action" for security operations in the mainly Kurdish southeast that have been underway since July, killing hundreds of civilians, security forces and militants.

The group also warned on Thursday it would stage more attacks against those it holds responsible for security operations in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

TAK previously claimed responsibility for a separate car bombing in the Turkish capital last month which killed 29 people. TAK says it split from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Experts who follow Kurdish militants say the groups retain ties.

After a two-year cease-fire between the Turkish government and the PKK ended last summer, Turkey launched a string of attacks against the PKK, which it views as a terrorist organisation. Since then, Turkey has been the target of numerous strikes by Kurdish militant groups as well as Islamic State.

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There have also been several security scares in Ankara and Istanbul amid fears of repeat bombings, and Germany's embassy in Ankara and its general consulate in Istanbul were closed on Thursday following indications of a possible imminent attack, the foreign ministry said.

The ministry said the German school in Istanbul had also been shut due to an "unconfirmed warning."

Authorities in cities including Istanbul and Diyarbakir, the largest in the mainly Kurdish southeast, have banned Kurdish New Year (Newroz) celebrations on March 21.

At the height of the PKK insurgency in the 1990s, the day was often marked by violent Kurdish protests, something many fear will be repeated next week because of the upsurge in fighting in the southeast.

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