Firefighters work at the scene of a deadly explosion Wednesday in Ankara, Turkey.
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A big blast in the Turkish capital, Ankara, has left 28 people dead and 61 wounded.
A vehicle filled with explosives detonated as it drove past a vehicle carrying military personnel stopped at a red light, Turkey’s deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus said Wednesday.
Pro-government Sabah newspaper said the man was linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
There have been no reports of any Malaysian casualties in yesterday’s vehicle bomb attack in Ankara, Turkey, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry confirmed.
Kurtulmus said no group had yet claimed responsibility, but pledged authorities would find those behind the attack. Photos and videos from the scene showed thick clouds of smoke and at least one bus fully engulfed in flames.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who had been on account of attend conferences in Brussels on the migration disaster on Thursday, cancelled the journey, an official in his workplace stated.
Interior Minister Efkan Ala said that 14 people have been detained in different provinces throughout the country in connection with the Ankara blast, according to Anadolu.
“Our determination to retaliate to attacks that aim against our unity and future grows stronger with every action”, Erdogan said.
The army said the attack took place at 4:31 PM GMT and had targeted “service vehicles carrying army personnel”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned the attack in the country’s capital saying it exceeds all “moral and humane boundaries”.
“Those who directly or indirectly back an organization that is the enemy of Turkey, risk losing the title of being a friend of Turkey”, Davutoglu said, in an apparent reference to Washington.
The bloodshed came on the heels of a string of attacks in Turkey, blamed on jihadists but also on Kurdish rebels.
Davutoglu said they have clear links with the YPG. It is part of a U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, and has been shelling Kurdish militia fighters in northern Syria in recent days.
“On behalf of the Department of Defense, I want to pass along my deepest condolences to the families of the victims of today’s bombing in Ankara”, Carter said in a written statement.
No group has claimed credit for it at this time.
“We deny any involvement in this attack”, Saleh Muslim told AFP.
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On January 16, 11 people, all German tourists, were killed when a suicide bomber affiliated with the IS attacked the tourist heart of Istanbul.
