ANKARA — A suicide bomber detonated an explosive Friday in front of the US Embassy in Ankara, killing himself and a guard at the entrance gate, officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Turkey's Interior Minister, Muammer Guler, said the bomber was likely connected to a domestic left-wing militant group. He did not explain why. A Turkish woman was also seriously wounded and two other guards sustained lighter wounds in the blast in the Turkish capital, Guler told reporters. A police official, meanwhile, told The Associated Press that the bomber is most likely a suspected member of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front. The group has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States but had been relatively quiet in recent years. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack demonstrated a need for international cooperation against terrorism and was aimed at disturbing Turkey's “peace and prosperity.” “But we will stand firm and we will overcome this together,” he said. In a statement, the US Embassy thanked Turkey for “its solidarity and outrage over the incident.” The Hurriyet newspaper said staff at the embassy took shelter in “safe room” inside the compound soon after the explosion which occurred inside the security checkpoint at the side entrance to the embassy. A guard standing outside the checkpoint was killed and while the two other guards “were standing in a more protected area,” Guler said. Police and ambulances swarmed the area and authorities immediately cordoned it off. TV footage showed the embassy door blown off its hinges. The windows of nearby businesses were also shattered by the power of the blast, and debris littered the ground and across the road. The inside of the embassy did not appear to be damaged. Guler identified the injured woman as 38-year-old Didem Tuncay, a television journalist and a hospital official said she was “not in a critical condition.” News reports said she was at the embassy to get a US visa. — AP
