Suicide car bomb rocks Turkey’s capital, killing at least 34

Ankara blasts

In yet another suicide attack, a car bomb hit a bustling business district in Turkey’s capital Ankara on March 13, which killed at least 34 people and wounding around 125 others. The blast occurred close to Ankara’s main square and a park.

This is the third blast in Turkey in five months. Turkey’s Interior Minister Efkan Ala said that the attack took place as Turkey prepared to launch large-scale military operations against Kurdish militants in two towns, but it wouldn’t deter the country from its fight against terrorism. He said that the car bomb targeted civilians at bus stops on Ataturk Bulvari close to Kizilay square.

The police sealed off the area and also warned that there could be a second bomb. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Kurdish militants and the Islamic State group have carried out bombings in the city recently. Turkey is facing plenty of issues at the moment including renewed fighting with the Kurdish rebels, threats from the terror group Islamic State and Syrian refugee crisis.

The bomb blast occurred just three weeks after a suicide car bombing in the Ankara had targeted buses carrying military personnel, killing 29 people. A Kurdish militant group, which is an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdish rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, had claimed responsibility for the February 17 attack.

 

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