Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Binyamin NetanyahuReuters

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu condemned on Friday the attack on the American Embassy in Ankara.

In a letter he sent to U.S. President Barack Obama, Netanyahu wrote, “I am shocked by the attack. Such acts of violence remind us of the danger those who courageously represent us abroad are exposed to, and the threats on the part of those who oppose freedom. Our hearts are with the American people.”

Netanyahu also expressed his condolences to the Turkish people but did not send a similar letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose relations with the government in Jerusalem have been strained for several years.

Two people were killed, one of them the suicide attacker himself, in the blast which rocked the embassy in Ankara on Friday afternoon.

Previous reports indicated that two security guards had died in the blast, but this was later corrected to indicate that the second death was the suicide bomber. One person was wounded in the blast.

Erdogan said on Friday evening that the suicide bomber was a member of an outlawed leftist group.

Erdogan’s statement confirmed reports claiming the bomber was a 30-year-old member of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C). The suspect, identified as Ecevit Sanlı, has previously spent time in prison, according to the Turkish daily Hurriyet.

Erdogan also played down claims that the attack might be related to Turkey’s position on the Syrian crisis, saying, “I don't see this connection as likely. You know that the DHKP/C made some other attempts lately, but Turkey is taking steps against terrorism as well.”

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)