A
car bomb explosion ripped through a busy square in the Turkish capital
Sunday evening, killing at least 34 people and wounding 125 others,
officials said.
The death toll could include one or two attackers, Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said.
Scores of police cars, firefighters and medical personnel rushed to the scene. Security forces evacuated the area, the official Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.
"We
condemn this terror attack. ... People who carried out this attack will
never succeed," Interior Minister Efkan Ala said. "Turkey will
overcome. Our determination to fight against terror will never be
deterred by attacks like this."
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed regional instability for the violence.
"When
terror organizations and the ones who use them as a tool start losing
their fight against the security forces," he said, "they apply the most
cruel methods and target our innocent people."
Authorities haven't released details about who they believe was behind the blast.
"It's
too early to talk about who carried out this attack. The investigation
is ongoing," a senior Turkish official said. "Our priority right now is
the wounded."
The explosion
apparently targeted a transportation hub where bus stops and a metro
station are located in the Kizilay neighborhood, Anadolu said.
A bombing that targeted military vehicles in the capital in February killed at least 28 people.
Last
week, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara warned of a possible terrorist plot to
strike government buildings in the capital's Bahcelievler neighborhood,
which is just a few minute's drive from the square where Sunday's
explosion occurred.