Sun 13 Mar 2016: Turkey, 37 killed in Ankara by TAK bomb

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Ankara explosion: Shocking footage 'shows moment car suicide bomb kills 32 people in Turkey'
19:01, 13 MAR 2016 UPDATED 20:20, 13 MAR 2016 BY SAM RKAINA, ECE TOKSABAY
A senior security official said the blast was believed to have been caused by a suicide car bombing that also wounded 75 people
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ankara-explosion-kills-many-ca r-7551122

The deadly blast, which also wounded 75 people, comes less than a month after a similar attack killed 29 people in an area nearby.

In the clip a bus can be seen before a blinding white light is followed by fire on the streets.

The blast could be heard 1.5 miles away and a large cloud of smoke could be seen rising over the city centre, a witness said.


A senior security official said the blast appeared to have been caused by a suicide car bomb.

The wreckage of two cars is seen after an explosion in Ankara's central Kizilay district in Ankara, Turkey Getty
The wreckage of two cars is seen after an explosion in Ankara's central Kizilay district
Emergency workers work at the explosion site in Ankara, Turkey Reuters
Emergency workers work at the explosion site
A second security official said gunfire was heard after the blast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The area, close to a courthouse and the Justice and Interior Ministries, was crowded when the explosion happened at 6.43pm local time (4.43pm GMT) state broadcaster TRT said.

TRT said a vehicle had exploded at a major transport hub, hitting a bus carrying some 20 people near the central Guven Park and Kizilay Square.

Read more: Ivory Coast hotel shooting: Gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs leave at least 11 dead after opening fire at beach resort

The government has said the previous car bombing in Ankara on February 17 was carried out by Kurdish militants.

That attack struck near Turkey's military headquarters, parliament and other key government institutions.

Islamic State militants have meanwhile carried out at least four bomb attacks on Turkey since June 2015.

Aykut Unlupinar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
At least 27 people have been killed in the blast today
Reuters
The devastating explosion follows another in the same area recently
Local jihadist groups and leftist radicals have also staged attacks in the NATO member country in the past.

A senior security official told Reuters the blast was believed to have been caused by a suicide car bombing that also wounded 75 people.

Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Gunfire was also heard after explosion, while ambulances rushed to the area, officials said
Aykut Unlupinar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Initial findings suggest the Ankara attack was carried out by Kurdish militants PKK or an affiliated group
Smoke could be seen rising above the area from a distance 2.5 km away, a Reuters witness said.

Read more: Casualties feared after huge car bomb explodes outside Russian mosque

The blast occurred near the central Guven Park, which adjoins a major transportation hub.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "I'm appalled by the devastating terror attacks in Ankara and the Ivory Coast. My thoughts are with all those affected."

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Ankara bombing: Kurdish group TAK claims responsibility
TAK says attack was a response to security operations carried out by Turkish forces in the southeast of the country.
17 Mar 2016 09:08 GMT | War & Conflict, Turkey, Kurds, PKK
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/ankara-bombing-kurdish-group-tak -claims-responsibility-160317080143617.html

A breakaway faction of Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has claimed responsibility for the suicide car bomb attack that killed 37 people in Ankara on Sunday.

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) said on Thursday the attack was a response to security operations carried out by Turkish forces in the Kurdish-dominated southeast of the country.

"On the evening of March 13, a suicide attack was carried out ... in the streets of the capital of the fascist Turkish republic. We claim this attack," TAK said in a statement on their website, warning that it would stage more attacks.

READ MORE: Ankara bombing and the failing Turkish state

Witnesses said the blast on Sunday set vehicles on fire and heavily damaged several buses.

The explosion, which could be heard several kilometres away, also sent burning debris showering down over an area a few hundred metres from the justice and interior ministries, a top courthouse and the former office of the prime minister.

Authorities detained 11 people over Sunday's bombing, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, while Turkey's air force hit several Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq hours after the blast.

The attack came three weeks after a similar car bombing in Ankara killed 29 people, also claimed by TAK.

TAK says it has split from the PKK, but some experts say they are closely linked.