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Major blast rocks Turkish capital's downtown, 3 killed
Turkish television broadcasters have shown several vehicles on fire in the capital following the explosion. The blast took place in a vehicle on Kumrular Street in Kızılay and that a fire broke out as a result. At least six cars and a building were seriously damaged after the blast.
Although Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay earlier said nobody was killed in the explosion, Şahin said three people died in the blast. The interior minister added that “it is highly likely the explosion was a terrorist attack.” Recalling that there are claims that an LPG tank explosion caused the attack, Şahin said this is unlikely and that once this possibility is eliminated it will be certain that the blast was a terror attack.
President Abdullah Gül, who is currently on an official visit to Germany, also commented on the explosion and called it a terrorist attack. “There are fatalities. I would like to first deliver my condolences to them. I condemn the attack with hatred,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç also said initial findings point to a bomb attack. Arınç said "there is information that a bomb was planted" on the vehicle that exploded in Kızılay.
The explosion reportedly took place in front of the Çankaya District Governor's Office and a primary school. The explosion is also near the Prime Ministry building.
Ambulances and fire engines have been dispatched to the scene and police have cordoned off the area, fearing a second explosion. The reason for the blast is still to be determined. The private Cihan news agency said the explosion could have been caused by a bomb attack, while there are also claims that an LPG tank explosion may also have caused the blast. Çankaya Mayor Bülent Tanık also said nobody was killed in the explosion and that one eyewitness had said a LPG tank explosion caused the explosion.
Deputy Prime Minister Atalay, Ankara Police Chief Zeki Çatalkaya and many other officials rushed to the area. Police are not ruling out the possibility that the blast may have been a terrorist attack carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has recently stepped up its terrorist activities. The PKK, which has killed more than 50 people in the past few months, has been declared a terrorist organization by the international community, including the US and the EU.
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