TURKEY:A bomb outside a crowded shopping mall in Turkey's capital Ankara killed six people and injured at least 80 people yesterday, prime minister Tayyip Erdogan said.
It was believed to be the worst in at least a decade to strike near Turkey's power centre, which houses the influential armed forces, the presidency and the government.
"We have seen a vicious, ruthless terror attack at Ankara's busiest time," Mr Erdogan said at the scene of the blast. He said steps would be taken but did not elaborate. The attack comes ahead of the busy summer tourism season and July general elections.
Mr Erdogan said four Turks and one Pakistani were killed in the rush-hour explosion in the crowded and historic Ulus district in central Ankara, a heavily protected capital which rarely sees bomb attacks. Four Pakistanis were also among the wounded, he said.
A security source, who declined to be named, said all eyes were on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) - which is waging an armed struggle against the Turkish state for greater Kurdish rights - saying the bombing bore the hallmarks of the outlawed guerrilla movement.
Shop windows were shattered, debris strewn across the street, and police cordoned off the area as rescue workers carried injured people, many covered in blood, into ambulances. "This is the most horrific scene I have ever seen, it gives me great grief," Ankara mayor Melih Gokcek said, adding that the blast occurred at the entrance of the Anafartalar mall.
Three bodies, badly mutilated, were still lying in the street in front of the five-storey building, a witness said. Police officers at the scene said A-4 explosives were believed to have been used in the attack. A security source said the explosives were similar to ones used by the PKK. Police have detained seven people in connection with the bomb, Turkish broadcaster NTV said.
Armed forces chief of general staff, Gen Yasar Buyukanit visited the bomb site. He said he feared that similar attacks could hit other large cities.
The explosion comes amid heightened political tension in European Union-applicant Turkey. Mr Erdogan's ruling AK Party has called a national election ahead of schedule to resolve a conflict with the secularist elite over a recent presidential election. The secular establishment, including the military, judges and opposition parties, derailed the government's plan to elect foreign minister Abdullah Gul as president, fearing he might weaken the official separation of religion and state.
The PKK ended a unilateral ceasefire on May 18th and security experts had expected attacks to escalate as a result. It has been fighting for an ethnic homeland in a campaign of bombings, kidnappings and armed attacks since 1984.