Ankara explosion: 61 injured, 28 dead in Turkish capital explosion

QUICK PILL

• Ankara governor says the huge explosion is believed to have been a car bomb as witnesses shared images of the scene on social media.
• Apparently, Twitter and Facebook have been blocked after these explosions.

A large explosion in the Turkish capital - Ankara, has left at least 28 people dead and 61 injured, Turkish officials have said, according to reports by Reuters.

The incident:

According to Ankara's governor's office, a vehicle full of explosives was detonated as military buses were passing by. The blast happened in an area close to parliament and Turkey's military headquarters and large plumes of smoke were seen rising from the area, a BBC report stated.

"The terror attack was carried out when the vehicles were waiting for traffic lights at a road junction," the Turkish military said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has convened an emergency security meeting in the wake of the blast, which will definitely inflame tensions over Turkey's growing involvement in Syrian war.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag has called it an act of terrorism. Security forces carried out a controlled explosion on a suspect package after the blast. Turkey's Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has cancelled a trip to Brussels.

Apparently, Twitter and Facebook have been blocked after these explosions. In the past year, Turkey has suffered a string of attacks by both Isil jihadists and Kurdish separatists.

The latest assault comes after last month's suicide bombing by Islamic State in Istanbul that killed 10 tourists.