Blast appears to be a suicide car bombing, says Turkish senior security official

At least 32 people were killed in an explosion in the Turkish capital Ankara on Sunday, according to security sources.

One of the sources initially said 33 people had died, but later said it was 32.

Ankara’s governor’s office said 75 were injured.

The blast occurred near the central Guven Park, close to a major transportation hub.

NTV television says the bomb exploded Sunday near a park at Ankara’s main square. Several cars caught fire.

Several ambulances and police cars were sent to the scene, an area close to government offices and ministries.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was convening an emergency security meeting.

The explosion was caused by a car bomb going off near a bus stop, said the governor’s office in a statement.

A senior security official says the blast appears to have been a suicide car bombing.

The explosion — the third in the city in five months — came just three weeks after a suicide car bombing in the capital targeted buses carrying military personnel,.

A Kurdish militant group, an offshoot of the outlawed rebel group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, for the Feb. 17 attack.

An official told Reuters that PKK may be behind Sunday’s explosion.

“According to initial findings, it seems that this attack has been carried out either by the PKK or an affiliated organization,” the official said.

Sunday’s attack also came two days after the U.S. Embassy issued a security warning about a potential plot to attack Turkish government buildings and housing in one Ankara neighbourhood and asked its citizens to avoid those areas.