Car bomb in Turkey kills at least 34, injures 125

Associated Press

ANKARA, TURKEY

A suicide car bomb went off near bus stops in the heart of Turkey’s capital Sunday, killing at least 34 people and wounding around 125 others, officials said. Two of the dead are believed to be the assailants.

A senior government official told The Associated Press that police suspect that Kurdish militants carried out the attack, which occurred on Ankara’s main boulevard, close to ministries.

At least one of the bombers was a woman, he said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity on the grounds that the investigation was ongoing.

The bombing was the third in the city in five months and came as Turkey is grappling with a host of issues, including renewed fighting with Kurdish rebels, threats from the Islamic State group and a Syrian refugee crisis.

Earlier Sunday, Turkish authorities said they were imposing curfews on two mainly Kurdish towns where Turkey’s security forces were set to launch large-scale operations against Kurdish militants. Russia on Sunday also accused Turkey of sending its military across the Syrian border to prevent Kurdish groups there from consolidating their positions.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement vowing to bring “terrorism to its knees” and said Turkey would use its right to self-defense to prevent future attacks.