Car bomb in Turkey’s capital kills at least 27, wounds 75

Members of emergency services work at the scene of an explosion in Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, March 13, 2016. A television channel said the bomb exploded close to bus stops near a park at Ankara's main square, Kizilay. The news channel said the explosion occurred as a car slammed into a bus, suggesting that the blast may have been caused by a car bomb. Several vehicles had caught fire, it said. (AP Photo) Members of emergency services work at the scene of an explosion in Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, March 13, 2016. A television channel said the bomb exploded close to bus stops near a park at Ankara's main square, Kizilay. The news channel said the explosion occurred as a car slammed into a bus, suggesting that the blast may have been caused by a car bomb. Several vehicles had caught fire, it said. (AP Photo)

By Associated Press March 13, 2016 2 min read

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – A car bombing in Turkey’s capital has killed at least 27 people and wounded around 75 others on Sunday, officials said.

The blast occurred on the city’s main boulevard, Ataturk Bulvari, close to Ankara’s main square, Kizilay. It happened adjacent to bus stops near a park.

The private NTV news channel said a car, believed to be laden with explosives, detonated close to a bus. Several vehicles then caught fire, it said. The area is close to government offices, including ministries.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was convening an emergency security meeting.

The deadly explosion – the third in the city in five months – came just three weeks after a suicide car bombing in the capital targeted buses carrying military personnel, killing 29 people. A Kurdish militant group which is an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdish rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, claimed responsibility for the Feb. 17 attack.