Friday February 1, 2013

Turkish guard killed in US embassy suicide bombing (Update)

ANKARA: A Turkish security guard was killed and several other people wounded in a suicide bombing at the entrance to the highly-fortified US embassy in Ankara on Friday, officials said.

The force of the blast damaged nearby buildings in the upmarket Cankaya neighbourhood of the capital where many other state institutions and embassies are also located.

"There were two dead in the suicide bombing, a Turkish security guard and the bomber himself," Ankara governor Alaattin Yuksel told reporters, adding that a woman was also among the wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Turkey has witnessed many bloody attacks in the past blamed on Kurdish militants or al-Qaeda linked groups.

The US ambassador, Francis Ricciardone, confirmed the death of the guard and vowed to work with Turkey to fight terror.

"We are very sad of course, we lost one of our Turkish guards at the gate... The compound is secure, we all feel very safe thanks to your response," he told reporters.

"We will continue to fight terrorism together. From today's event it is clear we both suffer from this terrible terror problem. We are determined... only more to collaborate together until we defeat this problem."

NTV television reported that a suicide attacker detonated a bomb at the security roadblock near the entrance to the embassy's visa section, where dozens of people wait every day.

"At approximately 13:15 (1115 GMT) on February 1, there was an explosion at the US embassy. Appropriate measures have been taken by the Turkish National Police who are now investigating the incident," the US embassy said in a statement.

"The US embassy would like to thank the Turkish government, the media, and members of the public for their expressions of solidarity and outrage over the incident."

Police have cordoned off the area around the embassies, and ambulances were seen on standby amid fears the number of casualties could rise.

Television footage showed an injured woman with a blood-stained face being carried into an ambulance on a stretcher.

Predominantly Muslim Turkey is a close US ally and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

The blast comes barely a week after NATO declared that a battery of US-made Patriot missiles went operational on Turkey's border with war-torn Syria on Saturday.

Turkey, led by Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan, has become a fierce critic of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad since the uprising erupted in March 2011.

Foreign missions in Turkey have been targeted in the past.

In July 2008, three gunmen and three Turkish policemen were killed in an attack outside the US consulate in Istanbul.

In November 2003, four suicide car-bomb attacks on two Istanbul synagogues, the British consulate and British bank HSBC killed 63 people, including Britain's consul general.

The bombings were claimed by an al-Qaeda cell.

Friday's attack also comes as the Turkish government is negotiating with leaders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to resolve the three-decade Kurdish conflict.

The insurgency by Kurdish rebels seeking autonomy in the southeast has claimed 45,000 lives, most of them Kurdish.

The PKK, which is regarded as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, had stepped up its attacks last year, usually targeting Turkish security forces.

EARLIER REPORTS:

TV: Two guards killed in blast outside US embassy in Ankara

ANKARA: Two security guards were killed in a blast outside the US embassy in Ankara on Friday, local television reported, amid speculation it was a suicide attack.

The force of the explosion damaged nearby buildings in the Cankaya neighbourhood where many other state institutions and embassies are also located.

NTV television reported that a person detonated a bomb at the security roadblock near the entrance to the embassy's visa section, where dozens of people wait every day.

Police have cordoned off the area but there has been no official comment on the blast outside the highly fortified complex.

NTV television said two security guards were killed and several people wounded. US embassy staff were not immediately reachable for comment.

Predominantly Muslim Turkey is a close US ally and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

The blast comes barely a week after NATO declared that a battery of US-made Patriot missiles went operational on Turkey's border with war-torn Syria on Saturday.

In July 2008, three gunmen and three Turkish policemen were killed in an attack outside the US consulate in Istanbul.

In November 2003, four suicide car-bomb attacks on two Istanbul synagogues, the British consulate and British bank HSBC killed 63 people, including Britain's consul general.

The bombings were claimed by an al-Qaeda cell. - AFP

TV: Several wounded in blast outside US embassy in Ankara

ANKARA: Several people were wounded on Friday in an explosion outside the US embassy in Ankara that damaged nearby buildings, the NTV news channel reported.

Ambulances and fire fighters rushed to Ankara's central Cankaya neighbourhood where many other institutions and embassies are also located, the NTV said. - AFP

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Friday February 1, 2013

Turkish guard killed in US embassy suicide bombing (Update)