(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) >A large explosion ripped through the main square in Turkey's capital Ankara on Sunday killing at least 27 people and wounding 75.
Officials said the blast occurred on Kizilay square a key shopping and transportation hub near foreign embassies and government buildings. The attack comes two days after the U.S. Embassy issued a security warning about a potential plot to attack central Ankara and asked its citizens to avoid the area. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu convened an emergency security meeting after the bombing Sunday.
The NTV news channel said a car believed to be laden with explosives detonated near a bus. Several cars caught fire and television footage showed several gutted vehicles. Dogan Asik a bus passenger when the explosion occurred said “We were thrown further back into the bus from the force of the explosion.” Asik sustained injuries on his face and arm. The blast comes less than a month after a car bomb attack in the capital killed at least 29 people. Turkey said that attack was carried out by a Syrian man with links to Kurdish militia groups. Ankara has been battling the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK which has been fighting a 30-year guerrilla war for more Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey. Turkey has also been targeted by Islamic State which was blamed for last October's suicide bombing at a peace rally in Ankara that killed more than 100 people — the bloodiest single terrorist attack since Turkey became a modern state in 1923.