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| Explosion in Turkish Capital Kills at Least 27, Officials Say | Explosion in Turkish Capital Kills at Least 27, Officials Say |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ISTANBUL — A large blast ripped through the heart of Ankara, Turkey’s capital, on Sunday, killing at least 27 people and injuring 75, the governor’s office said in a statement. | ISTANBUL — A large blast ripped through the heart of Ankara, Turkey’s capital, on Sunday, killing at least 27 people and injuring 75, the governor’s office said in a statement. |
| The explosion took place in Kizilay Square, near a central bus station, a park and several government ministries. Television footage showed several vehicles on fire. | The explosion took place in Kizilay Square, near a central bus station, a park and several government ministries. Television footage showed several vehicles on fire. |
| The Ankara governor’s office said the explosion was believed to have been caused by a car bomb. On Friday, the United States Embassy there warned Americans of a potential terrorist plot to attack Turkish government buildings and residences in Ankara. | |
| The blast came three weeks after a deadly bombing on a military convoy in Ankara that killed 28 people. A Turkish-based militant group called the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons claimed responsibility for that attack, identifying the bomber as a 26-year old Turkish national. The Turkish government blamed a Syrian Kurdish militia, which is supported by the United States in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. | The blast came three weeks after a deadly bombing on a military convoy in Ankara that killed 28 people. A Turkish-based militant group called the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons claimed responsibility for that attack, identifying the bomber as a 26-year old Turkish national. The Turkish government blamed a Syrian Kurdish militia, which is supported by the United States in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. |
| Turkey has been shelling positions held by Kurdish militias in northern Syria that it deems to be extensions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the P.K.K., which has been fighting for autonomy for over three decades. | Turkey has been shelling positions held by Kurdish militias in northern Syria that it deems to be extensions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the P.K.K., which has been fighting for autonomy for over three decades. |
| Eyewitness photographs on Sunday showed several buses and vehicles on fire and shattered glass from nearby shop windows. “It looks and sounds larger than the attack last month,” said Mehmet Arabaci, an Ankara resident who took photographs of the scene after hearing the explosion. | |
| Mr. Arabaci said Ankara residents had been avoiding crowded areas after facing three major attacks in six months that have killed over 150 people. “We don’t know when and where there will be another attack, but it’s apparent now that they can’t be prevented, and everyone is on edge,” he said. | |
| In October, the capital was rocked by the deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s modern history, when two suicide bombers believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State struck a peace rally, killing more than 100 people, mainly Kurds. | |
| The bombing last month targeted the Turkish military in a response to counterinsurgency security operations in the predominately Kurdish southeast. But Sunday’s attack appears to have targeted ordinary citizens, stoking fears of a spillover of violence to metropolitan areas. |