Horror moment suicide bomber & rocket launcher-wielding terrorist attack parliament before blowing up in Turkey

THIS is the moment two terrorists armed with a rocket launcher and a suicide bomb launched an attack near the Turkish parliament.

Explosions and gunfire rang out in the assault at around 9.30am local time as one attacker blew himself up.

Two police officers were injured in the attack outside the country's interior ministry in the capital city of Ankara.

Turkish authorities confirmed one attacker killed himself with the bomb and another was shot dead by security forces.

Footage shows the moment a van pulls up next to a security checkpoint and two terrorists begin the assault.

The two men - armed with guns and a rocket launcher - exchange fire with cops.

And then as one of them charges towards a nearby guard house he bursts into a massive fireball.

Pictures showed a discarded rocket launcher on the ground and a badly damaged van.

The bomb on Ataturk Boulevard was the first in Ankara since 2016.

Turkish officials said they believe the attackers had hijacked the vehicle and killed its driver in Kayseri - some 160 miles southeast of Ankara.

The duo then drove to the government district before launching the botched attack.

Police special forces commandos were deployed to secure the area after the explosion.

The attack was decried by interior ministry officials as a "terrorist attack".

TV channel NTV reported gunfire in the cordoned-off district as ambulances were seen rushing to the scene.

Turkish officials said two attackers arrived at the front gate of the General Directorate of Security.

They said: "One of the terrorists blew himself up and the other was neutralised."

Two cops received "minor injuries".

The targeted district is home to several other ministries and the Turkish parliament, which was due to reopen today with an address from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Television footage showed bomb squads working near a parked vehicle in the area.

The attack was close to the Turkish Grand National Assembly

Police cordoned off access to the city centre as they continued to investigate the attack.

In the hours following the blast, the Kurdistan Workers' Party - listed as a terror group by Turkey and the West - has claimed responsibility.

The PKK said: "A sacrificial action was carried out against the Turkish Interior Ministry by a team from our Immortal Brigade."

The incident comes almost a year after six people were killed and 81 wounded in an explosion on a busy pedestrian street in central Istanbul

During a spate of violence in 2015 and 2016, Kurdish militants, Islamic State and other groups either claimed or were blamed for several attacks in major Turkish cities.

In March 2016, 37 people were killed in Ankara when a bomb-laden car exploded at a crowded central transport hub.

Erdogan was set at 7.30 p.m. to attend the opening of parliament - which will soon ratify Sweden's bid to join Nato.

Charles Michel, European Council president, said he strongly condemned what he called the terrorist attack, while EU Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said it supports Turkey "in its fight against terrorism".