Survivor recounts details of Turkey attack

A car bomb killed at least 27 people at a crowded transport hub in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Sunday (March 13) and wounded at least 75 more, the second such attack in the administrative heart of the city in less than a month.

The blast, which could be heard several kilometres away, sent burning debris showering down over an area a few hundred metres from the Justice and Interior Ministries, a top courthouse, and the former office of the prime minister.

“The car came near to us. 10 seconds later the seats in the bus flew following explosions. A piece of metal came to me. There was a black car,” said Dogan Asir who survived the attack,

“I saw 5 people dead. I received a piece to here and to my arm,” he recounted with blood on his face.

Police helicopters hovered overhead as a large cloud of smoke rose over the city centre.

One senior security official told Reuters initial findings suggested the attack had been carried out by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or an affiliated militant group, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The government blamed the PKK and Kurdish militants in Syria for the previous car bombing just a few blocks away on Feb. 17, which killed 29 people, most of them soldiers. That attack struck near Turkey’s military headquarters, parliament and other key government institutions.

STORY: A car bomb killed scores at a crowded transport hub in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Sunday (March 13), the second such attack in the administrative heart of the city in less than a month.

The blast, which could be heard several kilometres away, sent burning debris showering down over an area a few hundred metres from the Justice and Interior Ministries, a top courthouse, and the former office of the prime minister.

“The car came near to us. Ten seconds later the seats in the bus flew following explosions,” recalled a survivor, Dogan Asir. “A piece of metal crashed into me. There was a black car.”

The death toll is at least 32, two security sources said. At least 75 more have been wounded, according to the governor’s office.

Police helicopters hovered overhead as a large cloud of smoke rose over the city centre.

One senior security official told Reuters initial findings suggested the attack had been carried out by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or an affiliated militant group, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The previous car bombing came just a few blocks away on Feb. 17. It killed 29 people, most of them soldiers, and was claimed by a group close to the PKK. The government said Syrian Kurdish militants were also involved in that attack, near the military headquarters, parliament and other key government institutions.