Explosion rocks Turkish capital

A bomb blast has occurred in the center of the Turkish capital of Ankara, killing at least 27 people and injuring 75 more, the governor's office said.

According to Press TV, the explosion took place near the Guven park in the Kizilay district of central Ankara on Sunday.

A senior security official said the blast was apparently caused by a car bomb.

A second security official said gunfire was heard after the blast.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility; however, a Turkish security official as saying that initial findings suggest that the bombing was carried out by the Kurdish militant group Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK, or an affiliated group.

"According to initial findings, it seems that this attack has been carried out either by the PKK or an affiliated organization," the official told Reuters.

The explosion occurred less than a month after a car bomb attack in central Ankara killed 29 people. Kurdish militants claimed responsibility for that attack.

On February 17, a car filled with explosives went off as military buses were passing by. A 26-year-old Turkish national born in the eastern city of Van from the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a PKK splinter group, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The militant group said in a statement posted on its website that it carried out the attack in response to the policies of President Rajab Tayyib Erdoghan.

SS