The United States on Wednesday forcefully condemned a deadly auto bomb targeting the Turkish military in Ankara, reaffirming USA solidarity with its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation partner and key regional ally, AFP reports.
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Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said in a speech that the “blatant, treacherous attack was well organised” and that the explosion didn’t target the Turkish military in Ankara alone but the whole nation, according to Andalou News Agency.
Erdogan convened a security meeting on late Wednesday and canceled his planned trip to Azerbaijan, while Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also canceled the travel to Brussels.
“Our determination to respond in kind against such attacks against our unity and future from outside and inside is even more strengthened through such attacks”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement.
They quoted AKP, Turkey’s ruling party, spokesman Ömer Çelik as posting on twitter: “Terror has attacked treacherously in Ankara”.
The death toll was confirmed by Ankara’s governor. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, which comes only a month after a bombing killed 11 German tourists in Istanbul.
Inside Turkey, the security forces are now pursuing a clampdown on the the armed Kurdistan Workers Party and local Kurdish demonstrators across the southeast of the country in an ongoing confrontation that is beginning to resemble a slow-burning civil war.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – A auto bomb went off in the Turkish capital Wednesday near vehicles carrying military personnel, killing at least 28 people and wounding 61 others, officials said.
Turkey has suffered from a series of deadly attacks.
Firefighters work at a scene of fire from an explosion in Ankara, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016.
In her Facebook post, Sanchez said: Dear friends and family of the PE (Philippine embassy) Ankara, Please know that all of us are safe and thankfully also our kababayans who study or work here.
Large plumes of smoke were seen rising from the area and witnesses said the blast was heard all over the city.
That attack in Istanbul killed at least 10 people. Casualties have been reported, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.
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Turkey has imposed similar bans after previous attacks.
