Ercan Topaca

Two suspects blew themselves up in a car early on Oct. 8 after the police called them on to surrender on the outskirts of Ankara, Ankara Gov. Ercan Topaca has told the press.

Both suspects died in the incident, the governor said.

Harun Arslan, one of the suspect, had bought a car a few days ago to use in a bomb attack and police was after the two suspects, he said.

A new head to Turkey's law enforcement was announced on Sept. 10 as Selami Altınok, who served as interior minister in 2015 during the government under former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, took over the role of Turkish police chief.

Altınok, who was serving as undersecretary at the interior ministry, was Istanbul's police chief between 2013 and 2015.      

A Turkish soldier has been killed in a knife attack after security forces intervened against a group of human smugglers trying to infiltrate into Turkish territory from Syria.

The Turkish Armed Forces announced in a statement that the incident took place at 7:15 p.m. on Feb. 14 at the Görenta? border post in Hatay's Yaylada?? district. 

More than 3,000 Turkmens have fled Syria's northwest for Turkey over the past three days, Turkish disaster agency AFAD stated on Feb. 1, after pro-Assad forces ramped up their attacks in the region. 

"After the attacks spilled over to the Yamadi camp, the first group of 731 migrants, mostly babies, children, women and the elderly, entered our country on Jan. 29," AFAD said. 

As Turkey has called for a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmens in neighboring Syria, local Turkmens and the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad started fighting each other on Nov. 23 to secure control of a hill close to the Turkmen-dominated Bay?rbucak region in northwestern Syria. 

As the Russian bombardment to defend Bashar-al Assad's forces heats up in the Turkmen-dominated Bay?rbucak region in northwest Syria, waves of locals have flooded to safe zones close to the Turkish border. 

Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter with masses in churches across Turkey and the world April 12, commemorating the day followers believe Jesus was resurrected 2,000 years ago.

Roman Catholics and Protestants marked Easter on April 5, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Eastern Orthodox churches celebrated Easter on April 12 using the older Julian calendar.

The authorities in the southern Turkish province of Hatay have defused two bombs that were found under a Syrian car, which appeared to be owned by a former Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander.