Ankara, Mar 13 (EFE). – At least 34 people were killed, while 125 other were wounded – the vast majority of them civilians – on Sunday when a powerful car-bomb explosion ripped through Kizilay Square in central Ankara, Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said at a press conference.

Meanwhile, Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said at the same press conference that the blast was a “terrorist attack” directed against the civilian population.

“We condemn it. Those who perpetrated it will not achieve their objectives,” said the minister after explaining that the bomb exploded inside an automobile driving near the square with one or two suicide bombers on board just as it passed by a city bus.

The blast took place at 16:35 GMT near Guven Park and next to a police station and a bus stop.

According CNNTurk, the wounded – 19 of whom are in critical condition, the Health Ministry said – were admitted to nearby clinics, while the bodies of those killed remained at the site of the explosion.

This is the third major attack in Ankara, after a double suicide bombing last October that claimed the lives of more than 100 people and a Feb. 17 strike in which 30 people – mostly soldiers – were killed. EFE

 

16 Killed During Attack on Ivory Coast Tourism Hotspot

 

Nuakchot, Mar 13 (EFE). – Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the Sunday attack in a famous coastal tourist zone of Ivory Coast, a strike that killed at least 16.

In a communique sent to Mauritania’s private Al Ajbar news agency, which regularly receives jihadist statements in the Sahel region, the terrorist group said that three of its fighters staged the attack on the Étoile du Sud hotel, in the popular Grand-Bassam tourist zone, 40 kilometers (24 miles) from Abidjan, the capital.

No further details on the attack were provided in the statement, but the Al Qaeda affiliate promised to do so in a future communique.

Preliminary reports indicated at least two gunmen carrying assault rifles and grenades stormed the hotel’s bar overlooking the beach and opened fire on customers, killing at least 16.

Eyewitnesses confirmed to the press that the gunmen were shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) as they went about their attack.

Special Forces units and the police were deployed to the scene to evacuate the wounded, hotel employees and customers of other hotels in the area, which is frequented by foreigners on the weekends.

This is the first time that Ivory Coast has been targeted by an attack of this nature, although the country was on high alert after jihadist attacks against hotels in Burkina Faso and Mali in recent months. EFE