28 killed by suicide blast in Turkey’s capital city
AT least 28 people were killed after a terrorist attack on military buses in Ankara yesterday.
A car bomb – believed to be driven by a suicide bomber – was detonated as a convoy of military vehicles crossed the centre of the Turkish capital during the evening rush hour.
As many as 61 others were injured in the blast, which happened close to the country’s parliament building and military headquarters.
Huge plumes of smoke were seen rising from the area and witnesses said the blast was heard all over the city.
Photos from the scene show intense fires raging and burnt- out buses. A Turkish army official confirmed the military buses had been targeted as they waited at traffic lights.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag called it an “act of terrorism”. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu cancelled a planned trip to Brussels to attend a security briefing.
One witness said: “I heard a huge explosion. There was smoke and a really strong smell, even though we were blocks away.”
A suspicious package was destroyed by controlled detonation outside the interior ministry building in Ankara.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the car bomb but Kurdish rebels, Isis and a Leftist extremist group have recently carried out attacks in Turkey.