Thirteen Turkish soldiers were killed and dozens more wounded in a car bombing targeting off-duty conscripts being taken by bus on a weekend shopping trip, the latest in a string of attacks to rock Turkey in recent months.
Television pictures showed that the bus had been reduced to a smoldering wreck by the impact of the blast, as the wounded were taken to waiting ambulances, AFP reported.
The explosion comes a week after 44 people were killed on December 10 in a double bombing in Istanbul after a football match. The attack was claimed by Kurdish militants.
Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said in televised comments that the attack in Kayseri was “unfortunately similar” to last weekend’s strikes in Istanbul.
The army said that the bus—carrying low-ranking privates and non-commissioned officers—was attacked after leaving the commando headquarters in the city.
The bus was owned by the municipal transport authorities in Kayersi but was transporting the soldiers who had taken permission to go to a local market for the day, Dogan News Agency said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been informed of the attack by the chief of staff, General Hulusi Akar, Anadolu added.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu was on his way to the city, it said.
Turkey has seen a spate of deadly bombings in a bloody 2016, which have left dozens dead and put the country on daily alert.
One of the main cities of central Turkey, Kayseri is a key industrial hub with a population of over one million and usually seen as a peaceful area.
It is well west of the country’s southeast that has been hit by months of deadly fighting between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the security forces.
There was no immediate indication of who was behind the latest attack.
The government slapped a temporary broadcast ban on footage of the attack, as is becoming typical in the aftermath of major incidents in the country.
