Ankara: At least 86 people were killed on Saturday in twin explosions targeting a peace rally in the Turkish capital Ankara, the health minister said.
Sixty-two people died at the scene of the blasts and 24 more then succumbed to their wounds in hospital, Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu told reporters in Ankara. He said that 186 people were wounded.
"Like other terror attacks, the one at the Ankara train station targets our unity, togetherness, brotherhood and future," Erdogan said in a statement, calling for "solidarity and determination".
Witnesses said the two explosions happened seconds apart shortly after 1000 a.m. as hundreds gathered for a planned march to protest over a conflict between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants in the southeast.
"I heard one big explosion first and tried to cover myself as the windows broke. Right away there was the second one," said Serdar, 37, who was working at a newspaper stand in the train station. "There was shouting and crying and I stayed under the newspapers for a while. I could smell burnt flesh."
Saturday's attacks came as expectation mounted that PKK militants would announce a unilateral ceasefire, effectively restoring a truce that collapsed in July. The government had already dismissed the anticipated move as an election gambit to bolster the HDP, whose success at June elections had helped erode the ruling AK party's majority.
Hours after the bombing, the PKK announced it was ordering fighters to halt operations in Turkey unless they faced attack. It said, through the Firat news website, that its fighters would avoid acts which could prevent a "fair and just election" being held on Nov. 1.
AFP
