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45 PKK rebels killed in air strikes — Turkey’s military

The blast took place in Kizilay district in the heart of Ankara at 18:35 local time (GMT 1635), according to a statement released on Sunday.

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The death toll from the blast rose to 37 after three people died from their injuries overnight.

Meanwhile, mourners held funerals for the victims of Sunday’s attack.

One journalist from publication Today’s Zaman has reported that there is “a ban on networks for coverage of explosion in Ankara” issued.

While the government attempts to project an image of stability, it has imposed a media blackout on independent reporting on major incidents, like the Ankara bombing attacks.

“The terror group is sending a message to the Turkish government that it will spread the violence to the west of the country including the nation’s capital”, he added. It said the area was crowded when the explosion happened.

A senior government official told The Associated Press that authorities believe the attack was carried out by two bombers – one of them a woman – and was the work of Kurdish militants.

DNA investigations are ongoing after the blast, said Davutoglu, adding that 11 suspects have been detained over their suspected involvement in the attack.

A curfew was declared in three towns in south-east Turkey, while warplanes struck PKK camps in Iraqi Kurdistan. A fragile, 2½-year peace process broke down in July.

The Islamic State group has been blamed for bombings in Turkey.

The PKK is fighting Turkey for Kurdish autonomy in the southeast.

In February, the Turkish government accused Kurdish rebels for another auto bombing in Ankara, which was later claimed by a PKK splinter group called the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK). The militant group has bases in the mountains from where it controls operations across the border in Turkey.

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Turkey will continue its determined fight against terrorism, he said. Ammunition depots, bunkers and shelters were among the targets hit. The country’s ruling Justice and Development Party has vowed to stop terrorists from striking again, but focused much of its firepower on Kurdish militants. Tanks have also been deployed at the town of Yuksekova, near the border with Iraq, but it was not immediately clear when the offensive there would start. All of our security forces, with its soldiers, police and village guards, have been conducting a determined struggle against terror organisations at the cost of their lives. Mezzinoglu also said that one or two of them might be the attackers. “We will not shy away from taking the necessary steps”.

A suicide car bomb ripped through a busy square in central Ankara killing 36 people and wounding 125