Anti-Turkey demonstration in Tel Aviv
Anti-Turkey demonstration in Tel AvivIsrael news photo: Flash 90

At least three people were killed and more than a dozen others wounded Tuesday after terrorists attacked the Turkish capital of Ankara.

Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahnin told reporters that a car bomb exploded near a high school. Other cars were similarly ignited by the blast. Those who were killed were found in a nearby building that was damaged in the bombing.

“The explosion occurred in a place where car and people traffic is intense,” he said. “It looks like the intention was to harm as many people as possible.” Sahnin noted that the cars that exploded were powered by liquified petroleum gas (LPG), like many in the country, making them easier incendiary targets.

The bomb was placed in a parked car which apparently had been purchased only a week ago, but was not yet registered. Police detained a woman at the scene who shouted “Long live our struggle!”

A group calling itself the Revolutionary Monarchist Front – Girayists – later took responsibility for the blast in a tweet that was disseminated on the Twitter social networking site.

However, the veracity of the claim could not be confirmed. Kurdish rebels organized as the Kurdistan Workers' Party, also known as the PKK terrorist organization, have been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey and have carried out numerous such attacks. The group is outlawed in Turkey, the United States and Europe. There have also been a number of bombings in Turkey by Islamist terrorists as well.

U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the deadly bombing Tuesday during the day while meeting with with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.