Ankara bombing toll rises to 34 dead, 125 injured

Attack comes just weeks after the city was hit by a suicide car bombing on February 17 that killed 29 people

ANKARA: The death toll from a suicide car bombing at a bus stop in central Ankara on Sunday has risen to 34, with 125 wounded, Turkey's health minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said.

"Thirty people were killed on the spot and four others died in hospital," Muezzinoglu said after a meeting of ministers and security officials in the wake of the blast.

Ambulances rushed to the scene on Kizilay square, a key commercial and transport hub close to the city's embassy area, where the blast reduced several vehicles including a bus to burnt-out wrecks.

Video: Moment of #Ankara blast caught on security camera.
Reports say 27 killed & 75 wounded in the attack.#Turkey pic.twitter.com/VezFKHSnAR

— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) March 13, 2016

The attack comes just weeks after the city was hit by a suicide car bombing on February 17 targeting the military that killed 29 people, claimed by a dissident faction of the oulawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"The blast was caused by a vehicle packed with explosives close to Kizilay square," an official statement said.

BREAKING: Explosion near a bus station in central #Ankara, the capital of #Turkey. Reports of many dead and wounded. pic.twitter.com/LvoIB0s7AS

— H. Sumeri (@IraqiSecurity) March 13, 2016

Medical sources told AFP the wounded had been taken to 10 different hospitals around the city, with a dozen said to be in a very serious condition.



Turkey has been hit by a spate of deadly attacks since the middle of last year, most of them blamed on the Islamic State (IS) group, including a double suicide bombing in Ankara in October that left 103 people dead.

Coming so soon after the February bombing, Sunday's attack will raise fresh questions about Turkey's ability to manage the twin security threat posed by IS and Kurdish rebels, as Ankara presses the European Union to speed up its membership process in return for help with the migrant crisis.

Meanwhile, there are reports of a media blackout in Turkey after the blast.

Turkey shuts down Twitter and Facebook after the Ankara blast.

— Mahir Zeynalov (@MahirZeynalov) March 13, 2016