34 killed in Ankara

Yahoo, 14.03.2016

A suicide car bomber ripped through a busy square in central Ankara Sunday, killing at least 34 people and wounding 125, officials said. The blast in Kizliay Square is the second major attack in the heart of the Turkish capital, in less than a month, after a suicide car bombing in February 17 that killed 29 people. The fact that militants were able to strike again so soon in area closed to the prime minister’s office, parliament building and foreign embassies will raise fresh questions about Turkey’s ability to manage the twin security threat posed by the Islamic State group and Kurdish rebels.

Turkey has been on high alert following a string of deadly attacks since the middle of last year, most of them blamed on ISIS, including a double suicide bombing in Ankara in October that left 103 people dead.

Sunday’s blast 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 a return for help with the migrant crisis.