Eighty six people die following bomb blast in Turkish capital

The explosions were caught on video and posted to social media.

Emergency crews were at the scene, responding to the injuries, with ambulances rushing off to several local hospitals. He said that 186 people were wounded, including 28 who are in intensive care.

People consoled one another near the site of the explosion. “Then we saw corpses around the station”, said witness Ahmet Onen.

“A demonstration that was to promote peace has turned into a massacre, I don’t understand this”, he said, in floods of tears.

The blast area was quickly closed as police began their investigation.

‘We are faced with a huge massacre. Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of HDP, linked the blast to Islamic State attacks on Kurds in Turkey, Haberturk newspaper reported.

Turkey officials have largely avoided conflict with ISIS, with much of credit for the truce being given to the release earlier this year of dozens of Turkish hostages recently taken into custody in the Iraqi city of Mosul. “It will not be possible to achieve a lasting peace and stability in Turkey unless all the major problems in the country, the Kurdish question in the first place, are resolved”, the statement goes on further.

The attack, near Ankara s main train station, ratcheted up tensions ahead of Turkey s November 1 snap elections which were already soaring amid the government s offensive on Kurdish militants.

Sources say the two explosions happened seconds apart shortly after 10am, as hundreds gathered for a planned march to protest over a conflict between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants in the southeast. “The aim of this attack is to make enemies of different groups in the society”, he said.

The PKK has announced a series of ceasefires in the past, including ahead of elections, often with a view to engaging in negotiations. The HDP scored a surprise victory at the June 7th elections, which kept Erdogan’s AKP from a majority in the parliament.

“There are very strong signs that the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers”, he told reporters in Ankara, declaring three days of national mourning for those who lost their lives.

Meanwhile, PM Ahmet Davutoğlu was briefed by the interior, health ministers about the bomb blast, and called for a meeting at 12 p.m. with Ankara governor, intelligence and police officials to discuss the attack.