A car bomb tore through a crowded transport hub in the Turkish
capital, Ankara, on Sunday March 13,2016, killing at least 34 people and wounding 125
in the second such attack in the administrative heart of the city in
under a month.
Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said 30 of those killed had died at
the scene, while the four others died in hospital. At least one or two
of the dead were attackers, he said, and 19 of the 125 wounded were in
critical condition
The explosives were the same kind as those used on Feb. 17,2016 and the bomb had been reinforced with pellets and nails to cause maximum damage
The blast, which could be heard several kilometres away, sent burning debris showering down over an area a few hundred metres (yards) from the Justice and Interior Ministries, a top courthouse, and the former office of the prime minister.
“These attacks, which threaten our country’s integrity and our
nation’s unity and solidarity, do not weaken our resolve in fighting
terrorism but bolster our determination,” President Tayyip Erdogan said
The bombing came two days after the US Embassy issued a warning that there was information regarding a potential attack on government buildings in the Bahcelievler area of Ankara, just a few km (miles) away from the blast site
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Interior Minister Efkan Ala said the name of the group behind the attack would likely be announced on Monday after initial investigations were completed.
TAK claimed responsibility for the previous car bombing, just a few blocks away, on Feb. 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.
NATO member Turkey faces multiple security threats. As part of a US-led coalition, it is fighting ISIS in neighbouring Syria and Iraq. It is also battling PKK militants in its southeast, where a 2-1/2-year ceasefire collapsed last July, triggering the worst violence since the 1990s.
The explosives were the same kind as those used on Feb. 17,2016 and the bomb had been reinforced with pellets and nails to cause maximum damage
The blast, which could be heard several kilometres away, sent burning debris showering down over an area a few hundred metres (yards) from the Justice and Interior Ministries, a top courthouse, and the former office of the prime minister.
The bombing came two days after the US Embassy issued a warning that there was information regarding a potential attack on government buildings in the Bahcelievler area of Ankara, just a few km (miles) away from the blast site
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Interior Minister Efkan Ala said the name of the group behind the attack would likely be announced on Monday after initial investigations were completed.
TAK claimed responsibility for the previous car bombing, just a few blocks away, on Feb. 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.
NATO member Turkey faces multiple security threats. As part of a US-led coalition, it is fighting ISIS in neighbouring Syria and Iraq. It is also battling PKK militants in its southeast, where a 2-1/2-year ceasefire collapsed last July, triggering the worst violence since the 1990s.
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