AFP, Ankara :
At least 28 people were killed and 61 wounded by a car bomb targeting the Turkish military in the heart of the capital Ankara, the latest in a string of attacks to shake the country.
The blast struck a convoy of military vehicles, said Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, confirming the latest toll. It was unclear who had carried out the bombing.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed retaliation against the perpetrators of the attack, which came on the heels of a spate of deadly strikes in Turkey blamed on jihadists and also Kurdish rebels.
The military said the air force had launched new strikes on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq hours after the bombing.
The air strikes late Wednesday on the Haftanin area of northern Iraq close to the Turkish border, a known PKK stronghold, targeted a group of 60-70 fighters including top leaders of the outlawed group, it added.
Reports Thursday said Turkish authorities suspect the deadly car bombing was carried out by a Syrian national who entered Turkey with refugees and had links to Kurdish fighters.
Police have identified the bomber as a Syrian named Salih Necar from fingerprints taken from refugees who crossed the border to escape the five-year war in Syria, the strongly pro-government Yeni Safak and anti-government Sozcu daily said.
The reports said he was killed in the explosion, without specifying if he had acted as a suicide bomber.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Wednesday it was not clear who had carried out the attack but promised the culprits would be found quickly.
The car bomb detonated when a convoy of military buses carrying dozens of soldiers stopped at traffic lights in central Ankara, sparking panic and chaos.
“This attack has very clearly targeted our esteemed nation as a whole and was carried out in a vile, dishonourable, treacherous and insidious way,” said Kurtulmus.
Plumes of smoke could be seen from all over the city rising from the scene, close to the headquarters of the Turkish military and the parliament.
The powerful blast was heard throughout Ankara, sending alarmed residents rushing to their balconies.
“I saw a huge fireball growing,” 25-year-old witness Gurkan, who said he was standing 500 metres (yards) from the scene, told AFP.
“People started to run in all directions in panic as soon as we heard a strong explosion.”
The army said the attack took place at 1631 GMT and had targeted “service vehicles carrying army personnel”.
