Turkish soldiers targeted in deadly car bomb
TURKEY: A deadly car bomb explosion in central Turkey killed 13 soldiers and wounded 48 others on Saturday, the Turkish military said.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported that a car bomb hit a public bus in the central province of Kayseri early Saturday morning, carrying off-duty soldiers near the Erciyes University campus.
Police and emergency responders rushed to the site and took the wounded to nearby hospitals, the report added.
‘‘Unfortunately, we have martyrs and wounded,’’ Kayseri Governor Suleyman Kamci said.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been briefed on the situation, the Anadolu Agency reported.
Vice Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said a ‘‘treacherous faction’’ attacked military personnel who were ‘‘training exclusively for the safety of our people’’.
The Turkish military said the people killed in the attack were soldiers.
Turkey’s prime ministry office imposed a temporary media blackout after the reported attack to refrain ‘‘the fear in the public, panic and disorder and which may serve the aims of terrorist organisations’’.
The deadly blast came a week after two powerful explosions killed 29 people and wounded 166 others outside a stadium in central Istanbul. The dead included 27 police officers.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 10 people had been arrested in connection with the attacks. - USA Today