Outlawed group targets US Embassy in Ankara, kills two
ISTANBUL
People stand outside the entrance of the US Embassy in Ankara on February 1, 2013 after a blast killed two and wounded several other people. AFP Photo
A suicide bomb attack at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, killed one Turkish security guard along with the attacker, Ankara Gov. Aladdin Yüksel said.A woman, who was at the embassy for business, was also injured, Yüksel said.
The explosion occurred at the entrance used by embassy personnel and their visitors, CNNTürk reported. A security guard working the X-ray machine at the embassy's entrance was killed in the explosion, which occurred as the suspected suicide bomber was passing through the machine, the report said.
Bomb experts are at the scene of the blast, Daily News reporter Hüseyin Hayatsever reported from the site of the explosion. Police have taken precautions against the possibility of a second attack, he added.
Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Güler has also recently arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara following the blast.
U.S. Consulate in Turkey advises its citizens in Turkey against visiting its missions until further notice.
Security cameras not recording
Security cameras were not recording at the moment of the blast due to a power outage in the area, according to claims.
It is not clear whether or not the embassy building was the only building experiencing the outage, Hürriyet reported on its website.
Officials from the company that is responsible for the the capital's power are reportedly at the scene as well.
Another reporter told NTV, citing U.S. embassy personnel, that there was no damage inside the embassy.
Ambulances and firefighters have been dispatched to the area.
All U.S. embassy personnel have been taken to saferooms in the embassy, a reporter from daily Star told NTV.
The undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Feridun Sinirlioğlu, was reportedly bound for the embassy. Ankara Gov. Alaaddin Yüksel also came to the scene of the blast for inspections.
On Sept. 11, 2012, the anniversary of the 2001 attacks by al-Qaeda on New York and Washington, heavily armed militants stormed the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi and attacked a nearby CIA safehouse.
Four Americans died in the assault, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and President Barack Obama's domestic opponents attacked the administration's handling of both security prior to the attack and public statements afterwards.
Similar attacks in recent Turkish history
2008 attack
A similar attack on July 9, 2008 against the 2008 U.S. consulate in Istanbul left six people dead.
Three
policemen were killed and at least others were two injured when three
men opened fire on the main entrance of the American consulate in the
city’s Istinye district. The attack sparked a shootout with security
guards. Three attackers were also killed, although at least one escaped.
The
three assailants, later found to be linked with Al Qaeda, jumped from a
car and opened fire at the consulate’s police checkpoint.
2003 attack
The
2003 Istanbul bombings were comprised of bombings carried out using
four trucks on Nov. 15, 2003 and Nov. 20, 2003, in Istanbul, Turkey. A
total of 67 people died and 700 were wounded. Several men have been
convicted for their involvement in the bombings.
Attacks
targeting two synagogues and the headquarters of British HSBC Bank and
the British Consulate killed 40 people and wounded 400 others.
