Potential Terrorist Attack Shakes Ankara, Turkey
Central Ankara survived a tumultuous explosion Tuesday that killed three people and injured at least 15, according to interior minister Idris Naim Sahin. It is the first deadly bombing in Turkey in more than four years.
The explosion took place in the highly populated thoroughfare Cankaya, which is home to the presidential palace and many municipal buildings, leading officials to suspect terrorist sabotage.
According to witnesses, a series of petroleum fires began when a lit gasoline tank was dropped from a nearby window onto a car below. The liquefied petroleum quickly spread to all other cars on the block, causing a domino effect of explosions.
Although the explosion did not kill anyone in the street, three people in surrounding buildings did not survive. Fire and glass shot up and into the windows of buildings bordering the gas fire.
Thick, black smoke swirled out of Cankaya Square as people dodged fire and broken glass to escape the destruction.
“There was no specific target,” Sahin told the New York Times. “It is a very crowded place, so we think the goal was to hurt as many people as possible.”
“It is highly likely to be a terrorist attack,” Sahin said.
Officials speculated that Cankaya was targeted due to its heavy automobile and pedestrian traffic.
Nearby schools have been evacuated and Turkish police are now taking precautions for a potential second attack, setting up security corridors around Ankara.
The last attack in Ankara was in 2007, when Kurdish militants bombed the city’s most popular shopping center. The Turkish government has not announced any potential leads for the culprits of this attack.
