Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
A SUICIDE CAR bomb that ripped through a busy square in central Ankara yesterday killed at least 37 people, Turkey’s health minister said this morning.
71 people are still being treated in hospital.
The explosion at 6:45pm (4.45pm Irish time) struck a bus stop near Kizilay square, a bustling commercial area and local transport hub, reducing buses to charred husks and damaging nearby shops.
Officials said the blast was caused by a vehicle packed with explosives, which the interior minister said was driven by one or two attackers who had deliberately targeted the bus stop.
The attack is the third to strike Ankara in five months, in an area close to the prime minister’s office, parliament and foreign embassies, as Turkey grapples with twin security threats from the Islamic State group (IS) and Kurdish rebels.
As recently as Friday, the US embassy issued a warning about a possible plot to attack central Ankara, advising American citizens to avoid the area.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for yesteray’s killings, but Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said investigators were following up on solid leads.
“We have concrete information on the terrorist group behind the attack,” he said in a statement.
We will soon have results from the inquiry, and will make them public.
Ambassador
Canberra said Australia’s ambassador to Turkey James Larsen was in his car just 20 metres away from the bomb when it went off.
It is the second major attack in the heart of Ankara in less than a month, after 29 people were killed in a suicide bombing claimed by a dissident faction of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on 17 February.
Sunday’s blast bore many similarities with the February bombing, which the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), linked to the PKK, said was in revenge for operations by the Turkish military in the southeast of the country.
A two-year ceasefire between the government and Kurdish rebels collapsed last year and since December security forces have been waging a major campaign against the PKK.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the government would “never abandon its right to legitimate defence against the terrorist menace”.
“Turkey is fighting a determined struggle against terrorist organisations,” he said.
The attack comes at a delicate moment for Turkey, as it seeks to persuade the European Union to speed up its path to membership of the bloc in return for help with a huge migrant crisis.
French President Francois Hollande condemned the “vile attack” and said France stood alongside Turkey in the fight against terror. British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was “appalled”.
The US condemned the “horrific attack”, with the White House National Security Council pledging to work with Turkey “to confront the scourge of terrorism”.
© AFP 2016 - with reporting by Daragh Brophy.
Wooohooooo. I’m trying to get the cash together to service my 03 car so it can pass the NCT.
Put it in without going to a mechanic, it could pass. Even if it fails, you’ll have a sheet of issues to resolve. Much more cost effective this way.
Thanks for the tip :-)
I never understand why you would buy a new car
Luxury? Knowing you’re the only person who has ever owned it and that nothing will be wrong?
So buy it once and then you’ll understand.
Thanks for clearing that up
I wonder how many people drove to anti water charges demos in a new car, with 95,000 being sold it must be a few hundred, or even a few thousand. A mid sized family car starts at €30,000, and a lot more if you go for a decent specification, that would buy a lifetime of water for a family.
Can we have a free cars demo next?
Donaill, “……and that nothing will be wrong…….”. What a lovely idea. That and the Tooth Fairy. Presumably you are a car dealer. Better wait a year and have the initial warranty stuff sorted, as well as benefitting from the depreciation.
However, someone had better keep on buying new or the nearly-new market will dry up.
Go to England and get a higher spec for cheaper.
Great news. I’ll be looking to buy one of these cars for a fraction of the current price in about three years time!
More proof for the naysayers that FG are turning this country around. What will the shinnerbots say now?
Sure It’s all the Fg cronies packed on the boards of quangos that’s buying them
Surely Ed, you can come up with a better one than that.
Well said James. Its easy to be against everything. Its a typical SF/IRA response to jump on the populist bandwagon. People like ed have no concept of the real world. Next they will be blaming FG for the bad weather.
In fairness things are improving around the country.
If they were bad we would blame the government.
So in turn if it gets better they should get some credit.
And NO I’m not a FG or FF voter!
Nope fraid not. no joking on this site yesterday then
cant understand why everybody doesnt buy a new car sure you could get a car worth 10,000 for only 20,000 when you add on the vat, excise duty and vrt.
This sounds like a feel good loaded article! Maybe there isn’t enough €500 cars to go around now!
Commercial vehicles sales, up good to hear.
Irish water fleet
Recession my arse…
We should Put up road tax instead of water charges
Yea cause it worked really well the last time…..not!
people can afford 30-40K new audi… they can afford to pay bit more road tax
Tax goes on engine size and emissions.
So your argument is a little on the stupid side
Thomas, are you taking the piss? 5% of your already overpriced motor tax currently goes to cover water charges.
There really is no point working in this country anymore.
bring in the luxury car tax instead of water charges
Modern expensive cars so technically advanced and have such low emissions now that the emissions based tax system doesn’t work not fair. So it should be based more on co2 emission based on manufacture. Larger more elaborate car’s are more polluting to manufacture so luxury car tax system is only fair
There’s already very heavy taxes on new cars Thomas.
The most polluting car to manufacture is a Nissan Leaf electric car because mining the hundreds of tons of material from which the hundreds of kilos of toxic heavy metals contained in the batteries is a very dirty polluting process. And then the poisonous batteries have to be disposed of when the electric car is scrapped.
in fairness motor tax is just another unfair tax on the poor. if you cant afford a new car then you have to pay exorbitant tax based on the size of your engine
Give the poor free cars I say Gerry! Anything else?
no f.g reg just have the same emmissions based tax on all cars regardless of age. its just about fairness, wouldn’t expect a f.g apologist to understand that though.
will never buy a new car, hope all those idiots enjoyed paying VRT on their new motors
have your say