Car bomb kills at least 32 at Ankara bus stop

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By BNO NEWS

A suspected car bomb has exploded at a bus stop in the center of the Turkish capital of Ankara, killing at least 32 people and injuring more than 100 others, officials and witnesses say. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The incident happened just before 7 p.m. on Sunday when an apparent suicide bomber blew up an explosives-laden vehicle near a bus stop at Güvenpark near Kizilay Square, setting a bus and a number of other vehicles on fire.

Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu said at least 34 people had been confirmed killed, including one or two attackers. He said about 125 people were being treated in area hospitals, of whom 19 remain in a serious condition.

Footage from security cameras in the area showed a powerful explosion as people sat at a bus stop.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but a security official told the Reuters news agency that initial findings pointed to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants or a group affiliated with it.

Sunday’s deadly attack comes just two days after the U.S. Embassy in Ankara issued a security message for U.S. citizens, warning them of information about a potential terrorist plot to attack Turkish government buildings and housing in the capital’s Bahcelievler area, which is not far from Güvenpark.

Ankara has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks over the last 6 months, killing at least 158 people combined. The worst attack happened in October when the Islamic State (ISIS) targeted a rally outside a railway station, resulting in the deaths of 102 people.

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