After three decades of military non-alignment and amid the war in Ukraine, Finland became NATO’s 31st member state in April.
The capital Ankara has been the site of numerous attacks, particularly during the years 2015 and 2016 – many of which have been claimed by the outlawed separatist group Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), or the Islamic State group.
The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, has been blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies.
Kurdish militants affiliated with the PKK control much of northeastern Syria.