Car bomb attack in Turkey kills 13 soldiers

Thirteen soldiers have been killed and 48 other military personnel injured in a car bomb attack in Turkey, military officials said.

The blast happened in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri on Saturday morning.

A military spokesman said the soldiers were about to go on leave, and that there may also have been civilian casualties. The wounded were being taken to hospitals in the region.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said the bomb went off at an entrance gate at Erciyes University, hitting a public bus which included on-leave soldiers among its passengers.

Police and ambulances rushed to the scene.

Kayseri Governor Suleyman Kamci said the "car bomb exploded beside a bus" and had caused fatalities. "Unfortunately we have martyrs and wounded," he said in remarks carried by the private Dogan news agency.

Speaking about the Kayseri explosion, Vice Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said in remarks broadcast on NTV that "treacherous factions" had taken aim at commandos from the Kayseri Airforce Brigade, who had been "training exclusively for the safety of our people".

Turkey's prime ministry office imposed a temporary blackout on coverage of the explosion and urged media from to refrain from publishing anything that may cause "fear in the public, panic and disorder and which may serve the aims of terrorist organisations".

The blast comes a week after a car bomb attack on riot police posted outside a football stadium in Istanbul after the conclusion of a match.

That attack killed 44 people, mostly police officers, and wounded scores of others. Kurdish militants claimed responsibility for that attack.

AP