Bomb kills 13 Turkish commandos, wounds 55

A suicide car bomb targeting military personnel exploded at the entrance to a university in the central province of Kayseri on Saturday, killing 13 Turkish troops and wounding 55 other people, authorities said.

The blast comes a week after a car bomb attack claimed by Kurdish militants killed 44 people, mainly riot police posted outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul.

The army said 48 troops were among the wounded in Saturday's "treacherous attack." The state-run Anadolu Agency said the explosion was at the entrance gate of the Erciyes University, hitting a public transportation bus that included soldiers among its passengers.

Minister Suleyman Soylu, speaking in Kayseri, said six of the wounded were in critical condition.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the statements of top officials suggested suspicion was focused on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party,or PKK, which Ankara and the West consider a terrorist organisation.

Kurdish militants have claimed multiple attacks against soldiers and police across Turkey this year in violence that has also caused casualties among civilians.




- AP