Related News
Ankara car blast claims 3, 34 wounded
Source: Agencies |
September 21, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A CAR bomb went off near a high school in the Turkish capital Ankara yesterday, killing three people in a nearby building and wounding 34 others, authorities said. The prosecutor's office said the blast was a terrorist attack.
"The explosion occurred in a place where car and people traffic is intense. It looks like the intention was to inflict as much harm to people as possible," Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said.
The parked car was purchased a week ago but it was not yet registered. Police detained a woman at the scene who shouted "long live our struggle!" as she was escorted away, Dogan news agency video showed.
Kurdish rebels fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey have recently escalated their attacks on Turkish targets. Islamist and leftist militants have also carried out some bombings in this NATO member and United States ally.
Kurdish rebels were blamed for a small bomb attack in the Mediterranean resort town of Kemer that wounded 10 people, including four Swedes on August 28. Turkish warplanes bombed suspected rebel hideouts in northern Iraq last month in response to the escalation of attacks by the guerrillas.
The bodies of three people were found in a building near the car that exploded in downtown Ankara, Sahin said.
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said police had information that a bomb was planted on the car. The explosion sparked a series of blasts in adjacent vehicles.
Reyhan Altintas, a neighborhood administrator, said she rushed outside after hearing a loud blast. It was followed by three other blasts, apparently caused by cars catching fire.
"I had never heard anything like it in my life," witness Adnan Yavuz said of the initial blast. "Then came another explosion and parts of a car dropped from the tree."
The wounded were initially treated in the school yard before medics rushed to the scene and whisked them away to hospitals, NTV television said. Authorities evacuated the school as worried parents rushed to pick up their kids.
"The explosion occurred in a place where car and people traffic is intense. It looks like the intention was to inflict as much harm to people as possible," Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said.
The parked car was purchased a week ago but it was not yet registered. Police detained a woman at the scene who shouted "long live our struggle!" as she was escorted away, Dogan news agency video showed.
Kurdish rebels fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey have recently escalated their attacks on Turkish targets. Islamist and leftist militants have also carried out some bombings in this NATO member and United States ally.
Kurdish rebels were blamed for a small bomb attack in the Mediterranean resort town of Kemer that wounded 10 people, including four Swedes on August 28. Turkish warplanes bombed suspected rebel hideouts in northern Iraq last month in response to the escalation of attacks by the guerrillas.
The bodies of three people were found in a building near the car that exploded in downtown Ankara, Sahin said.
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said police had information that a bomb was planted on the car. The explosion sparked a series of blasts in adjacent vehicles.
Reyhan Altintas, a neighborhood administrator, said she rushed outside after hearing a loud blast. It was followed by three other blasts, apparently caused by cars catching fire.
"I had never heard anything like it in my life," witness Adnan Yavuz said of the initial blast. "Then came another explosion and parts of a car dropped from the tree."
The wounded were initially treated in the school yard before medics rushed to the scene and whisked them away to hospitals, NTV television said. Authorities evacuated the school as worried parents rushed to pick up their kids.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
