#Ankaradayız Emek, Barış ve Demokrasi Mitingindeki patlama anı videosu #dokuz8 / @meliketmbk pic.twitter.com/it3dodESKz
— dokuz8 (@dokuz8haber) October 10, 2015
Ankara:Two bomb explosions on Saturday targeting a peace rally by leftist and Kurdish activists in Turkey's capital Ankara killed at least 30 people and injured 126 others, Turkey's Interior Ministry said.
The explosions occurred minutes apart outside Ankara's main train station as hundreds of people were gathering for the rally, organized by the country's public sector workers' trade union and other civic society groups. The rally aimed to call for increased democracy and an end to the renewed violence between Kurdish rebels and Turkish security forces. Authorities said they were investigating whether the attacks — which hit some 50 meters (yards) apart from each other — were suicide bombings. There was no immediate responsibility claim.
The attacks came at a tense time for the NATO-member country, which will hold a general election on Nov. 1. Authorities had been on alert after Turkey agreed to take a more active role in the U.S.-led battle against the Islamic State group, opening up its bases to U.S. aircraft to launch air raids on the group in Syria, while carrying out a limited number of strikes on the group itself.
Turkish jets have also carried out numerous airstrikes on Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq. Some 150 police and soldiers and hundreds of rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, have been killed since July when the conflict flared anew. An Associated Press photographer at the scene Saturday reported seeing several bodies covered with bloodied flags and banners that demonstrators had brought with them for the rally. Police later cordoned off the area.
Television footage from Turkey's Dogan news agency showed a line of protesters fanned out on the street near the train station, chanting and performing a traditional dance with their hands locked, when a large explosion hit behind them. The video also showed several people later lying injured on the streets or being taken into ambulances. Scuffles broke out between police and people frantically searching for loved ones or complaining about poor police response. Small anti-government protests broke out at the scene of the explosions and outside of hospitals as Interior Minister Selami Altinok visited.