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2 Dead in Suicide Bombing at U.S. Embassy in Turkey 2 Dead in Suicide Bombing at U.S. Embassy in Turkey
(about 1 hour later)
ISTANBUL — A suicide bomber was killed on Friday in an attack at the American Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, in which a security employee died and another person was injured, according to Alaattin Yuksel, the Ankara governor. ISTANBUL — A suicide bomber attacked the American Embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara on Friday, blowing up inside the compound in a blast that officials said killed at least one other person and wounded another. The State Department immediately warned American citizens in Turkey to avoid United States diplomatic missions in the country.
“The explosion happened inside the American Embassy,” Mr. Yuksel told reporters in televised remarks, standing with the ambassador, Francis J. Ricciardone, in front of the building. Alaattin Yuksel, the governor of Ankara, told reporters the explosion “happened inside the American Embassy,” in televised remarks as he stood with the United States ambassador, Francis J. Ricciardone, in front of the building.
The bomber was believed to have panicked and detonated an explosive belt while going through security controls at the entrance to the embassy, according to news reports citing preliminary investigations by security officials. The identity and motives of the bomber were not immediately clear, but Turkish news media said preliminary investigations by security officials said the bomber may have panicked while going through security controls at the embassy entrance and detonated a suicide belt. Mr. Yuksel said the other fatality in the blast was a security employee.
Turkish-American relations are strong and friendly but Turkey has not been immune to anti-American attacks in recent years. In 2008, three gunmen attacked security guards outside the American consulate in Istanbul in a shootout that left the attackers and three police officers dead.
After the suicide bombing, the United States Embassy posted an emergency message on its Web site advising American citizens not to visit the embassy or the consulates in Istanbul or Adana until further notice. It also advised Americans traveling or residing in Turkey “to be alert to the potential for violence, to avoide those areas where disturbances have occurred, and to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings.”
The police in Ankara sealed off the roads around the embassy compound after the blast, witnesses said.
“It happened two buildings away from us,” said Yunus Emre, a worker at a restaurant frequented by embassy officials.“It happened two buildings away from us,” said Yunus Emre, a worker at a restaurant frequented by embassy officials.
“Our windows shook with a loud sound, and people who worked at the embassy rushed out in panic, running toward the embassy,” he said in a telephone interview. “There are already many security officials in the area at all times but police and ambulances came almost immediately after.”“Our windows shook with a loud sound, and people who worked at the embassy rushed out in panic, running toward the embassy,” he said in a telephone interview. “There are already many security officials in the area at all times but police and ambulances came almost immediately after.”
Fikret Bila, a columnist with Milliyet newspaper, which has offices in the area, said pieces of flesh and tree branches were strewed nearby. The police sealed off the road around the embassy after the blast, Mr. Emre said. Fikret Bila, a columnist with the Milliyet newspaper, which has offices in the area, said pieces of flesh and tree branches were strewed nearby.
The roads around the embassy compound, located on a main thoroughfare in central Ankara, have been under routine police surveillance for several years.The roads around the embassy compound, located on a main thoroughfare in central Ankara, have been under routine police surveillance for several years.
The motives of the attacker have yet to be confirmed. But claims in social media outlets said the explosion could have been linked with the arrest of Osama Bin Laden’s son-in-law in a security operation in Ankara, an event that was reported in Milliyet newspaper on Friday. The attack came as the Milliyet newspaper reported the arrest of the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden in an Ankara security operation. But Mr. Bila said security officials believed there were no links between the reported arrest and the attack.
Security officials, however, have announced no links between the embassy bombing and that reported arrest, Mr. Bila added.

Sebnem Arsu reported from Istanbul, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Tim Arango contributed reporting from Istanbul.