Minibus Blast in Ankara

A minibus was subject to a forceful explosion in front of the Çankaya District Governorship on the Kumrular Street in Kızılay in Turkey's capital of Ankara. Three people are reported dead, 34 people were wounded.

The windows of the neighbouring buildings burst due to the blast, six other vehicles caught fire. The area was evacuated because of the possibility of a second explosion. The wounded persons were brought to hospitals in the region.

The Minister of the Interior, Beşir Atalay, and the Governor of Ankara, Alaaddin Yüksel, went to the scene for a preliminary investigation. The Minister of Justice, Mehmet Ali Şahin, announced subsequently, "The probability of a terrorist attack is very high".

Şahin continued, "We also have the statements of eye-witnesses. A person leaving a building and carrying a gas bottle was seen. This is being investigated as well. It looks like quite a low probability."

President Abdullah Gül, currently on a state visit in Germany, expressed his condolences for the relatives of the people who died in the blast.

After the initial investigation the Ankara Public Prosecution declared that the explosion might have been caused by a fragmentation bomb.

The explosive was apparently placed under a parked vehicle and remote-controlled. The blast also caused a fire that quickly spread to the nearby cars. It was reported that the assailant managed to flee from the scene in the first mayhem.

One person whose identity has not been disclosed yet was taken into police custody. (IC/AS/VK)