Face of a female suicide bomber: Kurdish terrorist who blew herself up in Turkish capital and killed 37 people is 24-year-old who trained in Syria

 

Bomber: Seher Cagla Demir , 24, was a members of the Kurdistan Free Hawks (TAK), who became a rebel in 2013 and had trained in Syria, before carrying out the suicide blast in Ankara on Sunday, killing 37 people

The female suicide bomber who blew herself up in a crowded public transport hub in Ankara on Sunday, killing 37 people, has been identified as a 24-year-old Kurdish separatist Seher Cagla Demir was a members of the Kurdistan Free Hawks (TAK), who became a rebel in 2013 and had trained in Syria, before carrying out the suicide blast on the Turkish capital.

It comes as Germany closed its embassy in Ankara and its general consulate in Istanbul due to indications that an attack could be imminent while a German school in Istanbul was also shut due to an 'unconfirmed warning'. 

The Kurdistan Free Hawks said it carried out the suicide blast on Sunday at a crowded public transport hub in the city - and said it would attack security forces again

It comes as Germany closed its embassy in Ankara and its general consulate in Istanbul due to indications that an attack could be imminent while a German school in Istanbul was also shut due to an 'unconfirmed warning'.  

TAK had previously claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Ankara last month that killed 29 people. 

Ankara has now been hit by three bombings in a space of five months, ratcheting up security fears across the city and Turkey.

In a statement posted online, the group described the latest car bombing as revenge for security operations in the mainly Kurdish southeast that have been under way since July, in which hundreds of civilians, security forces and militants have been killed.

TAK said it had not intended to kill civilians and was targeting security forces.

It said a large number of civilians had been killed after police intervened, without explaining exactly how, and warned that further civilian deaths were 'inevitable'.

A woman cries over the coffin of a car bombing victim during a commemoration ceremony in a mosque

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu puts a Turkish flag to the place where the terror attack took place

TAK says it split off from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), although experts who follow Kurdish militants say the groups retain ties.  

At least 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK began its fight for Kurdish autonomy in the southeast three decades ago.

The increased violence in Turkey has also put strain on the NATO member's relationship with the United States, which is supporting a Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

Turkey says the Syrian Kurdish fighters have links to the PKK. Washington considers the PKK a terrorist group, but not the YPG.