29-03-2024 01:45 PM Jerusalem Timing

Turkey Mourns 95 Dead in Twin Ankara Blasts

Turkey Mourns 95 Dead in Twin Ankara Blasts

Turkey woke in mourning Sunday after at least 95 people were killed by suspected suicide bombers at a peace rally of leftist and pro-Kurdish activists in Ankara, the deadliest such attack in the country’s recent history.

Turkey explosionTurkey woke in mourning Sunday after at least 95 people were killed by suspected suicide bombers at a peace rally of leftist and pro-Kurdish activists in Ankara, the deadliest such attack in the country's recent history.

The twin blasts, near Ankara's main train station, ratcheted up tensions ahead of Turkey's November 1 snap elections which were already soaring as the government wages an offensive on Kurdish militants.

The attack also left 246 wounded, 48 of whom are in intensive care, according to an updated toll announced by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's office.

Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), one of the groups that called for the peace rally, put the death toll at 128 in a tweet from their official account, but this figure was not confirmed by the government.

Declaring three days of mourning on Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Davutoglu said there were "strong signs" the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers.