Twin blasts in Turkish capital kill at least 86

Ethnic Kurds in Diyarbakir, in southeast Turkey, protest a deadly bombing at a peace march Saturday in the capital, Ankara. © Reuters

ISTANBUL (Dow Jones) -- At least 86 people were killed after two blasts rocked Turkey's capital, Ankara, early Saturday, as the country grapples with mounting security threats just three weeks before snap elections.

     The explosions, which occurred during a peace rally outside Ankara's train station at 10 a.m., also wounded 186 people, with 28 of them in a critical condition, Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said in a televised statement after an emergency meeting.

     "Unfortunately, we are afraid that the number may increase due to the number of heavy injuries," he said.

     "We condemn this terrorist attack," said Omer Celik, a spokesman for the long-ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, which leads the interim government. "This is a highly provocative action aimed at sabotaging the election process."

     Witnesses at the blast site alleged that at least one of the explosions was carried out by a suicide bomber, Mr. Celik said, adding that officials investigating the attacks were unable to confirm the reports.

     Turkish television channels broadcast scenes of panic as ambulances rushed to the area to take the wounded to nearby hospitals. Demonstrators formed a human chain around the attacked area and laid out scores of lifeless bodies in front of the station, covering them with flags of unions, political parties and civilian organizations participating in the "Labor, Peace and Democracy" march.

     Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has been briefed by the interior and health ministers about the latest developments, and has convened an emergency security meeting with some cabinet members and top security and intelligence officials, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency.

     The blast comes amid a backdrop of violence that has gripped Turkey since the breakdown in July of a two-year cease-fire between Kurdish insurgents and the state. Hundreds of security officials and civilians have been killed amid a recent surge in clashes between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and state forces, while the government has claimed to have killed more than 1,000 Kurdish militants.

     "I condemn whoever did this. We came here to express our wish for peace. But we faced another massacre," said Lami Ozgen, chairman of Confederation of Public Employees' Unions, or KESK-one of the leading organizers of the march.

     Saturday's blasts were the deadliest to hit Ankara in recent years. The capital was hit by PKK-linked suicide and car bombings in 2007 and 2011 that killed a total 13 people. Leftist militants struck the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in 2013, killing two including the suicide bomber.