Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Veysi Kaynak, said that it is highly likely that the incident is a terror attack reminiscent of the explosion at Besiktas stadium, adding that it appears to have been caused by a car bomb. A witness cited by Haberturk claimed that a car near the bus exploded.
A video tweeted from the scene shows several bodies lying on the ground beside the wrecked bus.
Speaking to reporters live on Turkish TV, Kaynak said that the attack had targeted a bus carrying off-duty soldiers.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has gone to the blast site in Kayseri, Hurriyet reports.
The Prime Minister’s office has been informed of the blast, and Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council has issued a provisional publication ban on the explosion in Kayseri, NTV reports.
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11:39
Several people were killed and injured as a result of a blast near a university in the Turkish city of Kayseri, Reuters reported citing security sources.
The explosion hit the bus reportedly carrying civilians and off-duty soldiers. The bus was allegedly hit near a bus stop at the campus of Erciyes university in Kayseri as it drove by a car laden with explosives, local media reports.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus confirmed casualties and stated that the explosion was a car bomb, which targeted bus carrying soldiers. He also noted that it resembles the attack outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul last week.
Local hospital confirmed casualties after the bus explosion, saying that more than 25 people were wounded. The details of the death toll are not available at the moment.
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11:16
Several people were wounded when a bus was hit by an explosion outside a university in the Turkish city of Kayseri.
Fatalities have been reported and ambulances have been dispatched to the scene, Reuters reported, citing hospital and security sources.
There are no precise figures on casualties so far. There has been no official statement as to what caused the blast, but a witness cited by Haberturk claimed that a car near the bus exploded.
Turkish NTV broadcaster reports the bus was carrying civilians and off-duty soldiers.
The Prime Minister’s office has been informed of the blast, and the Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council issued a provisional publication ban on the explosion in Kayseri, NTV reports.
Saturday’s explosion comes only a week after a twin bombing outside an Istanbul soccer stadium killed over 40 people and wounded more than 100. That attack was claimed by Kurdish militants, who Ankara regards as terrorists.
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10:46
Several people were wounded when a bus was hit by an explosion outside a university in the Turkish city of Kayseri.
Fatalities have been reported and ambulances have been dispatched to the scene, Reuters reported, citing a security source.
There has been no official statement as to what caused the blast, but a witness cited by Haberturk claimed that a car near the bus exploded. There were soldiers on the bus dressed as civilian, according to Milliyet newspaper.
