Turkish capital rocked by terror attack, 3 dead: video

A terrorist attack in the Turkish capital, Ankara, has killed at least three people and left 34 others injured on Tuesday. An explosive-laden car detonated in the downtown area of the city, spreading fire around the vicinity.

According to Ankara’s statement published after the attack, the blast is officially recognized to be a terrorist act. In a written statement, prosecutors confirmed that the explosive was hidden in a vehicle in front of the Cankaya local administrator's office close to Ankara's downtown Kizilay Square.Several other vehicles could be seen engulfed in flames in the capital following the explosion. A few vehicles were damaged and glass in the windows of several nearby buildings shattered.Police and firefighters cordoned off the site immediately after the explosion. Police feared a second explosion may occur after they had received a warning of two more explosive devices planted nearby and were searching for them, according to local press. A school which is located across the street was used as a first aid post.

Turkish prosecutors have announced that the bomb blast which rocked the Turkish capital was a terrorist attack, RIA Novosti news agency reported. Besir Atalay, a deputy prime minister, confirmed 15 people were wounded in the blast.No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the presumed terrorist act. Previously, similar bomb attacks in Turkish cities were claimed by Kurdish, leftist and Islamist militants.The recent blast comes at a time when Kurdish rebels are enforcing their attacks on Turkish targets in a fight for autonomy in the south-east of the country.

Kizilay is the commercial area of central Ankara.Kurdish rebels have been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984. But the conflict dates back to even earlier times. Since the 1930s, Kurds have resisted government efforts to assimilate them forcibly, including an official ban on speaking or writing Kurdish. The Kurds have been the minority group with the greatest impact on Turkish national politics. However, millions of the country's citizens still identify themselves as Kurds and speak Kurdish, according to 2008 census. Turkish Kurds number some 11 to 14 million people.