DUSHANBE, March 14, 2016, Asia-Plus – International media outlets report that a car bomb exploded in the Turkish capital Ankara yesterday, killing at least 34 and wounding 125.
The blast, which could be heard several kilometers away, reportedly sent burning debris showering down over an area a few hundred meters from the Justice and Interior Ministries, a top courthouse, and the former office of the prime minister.
The death toll could include one or two attackers, Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu was quoted as saying by
CNN
.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said the name of the group behind the attack would likely be announced on Monday after initial investigations were completed.
Meanwhile, two senior security officials told
Reuters
the first findings suggested that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy, or an affiliated group, was responsible.
One of the security officials said the car used in the attack was a BMW driven from Viransehir, a town in the largely Kurdish southeast, and that the PKK and the affiliated Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) appeared to be responsible.
TAK claimed responsibility for the previous car bombing, just a few blocks away, on February 17. That attack targeted a military bus as it waited at traffic lights, and killed 29 people, most of them soldiers, near the military headquarters, parliament and other key government institutions.
In its armed campaign in Turkey, the PKK has historically struck directly at the security forces and says that it does not target civilians.
The pro-Kurdish opposition HDP, parliament”s third largest party, which Erdogan accuses of being an extension of the PKK, condemned what it described as a “savage attack.”
The bombing came two days after the U.S. Embassy issued a warning that there was information regarding a potential attack on government buildings in the Bahcelievler area of Ankara, just a few kilometers away from the blast site.
The
Hurriyet
newspaper reported that a court in Ankara had ordered a ban on access to social media, including
Facebook
and
Twitter
, saying it was to stop people sharing images of the attack.
World leaders joined in condemning the bombing.
The
BBC
reports that three attacks in the Turkish capital in less than six months show the multiple security threats that Turkey now faces.
Last October, more than 100 people were killed in a double-suicide bombing at a Kurdish peace rally in Ankara.
Islamic State (IS) militants have been blamed for at least four bomb attacks on Turkey since June 2015, including a suicide bombing that killed 10 German tourists in the historic heart of Istanbul in January.
