ANKARA: At least 27 people were killed on Monday in an explosion in a cultural centre in the Turkish town of Suruc near the border with Syria,the interior ministry said.
The cause of the blast in the town, which lies opposite the Syrian flashpoint of Kobane — was not immediately clear, though the ministry said 27 people died in a “terrorist attack”.
Officials said it might have been a suicide bomb, and some commentators said it could have been the work of Islamist State (IS) militants.
Several Turkish media reported fatalities and private television station said at least 27 people had been killed and about 100 wounded. Witnesses said that fire broke out after the strong explosion which smashed the windows of the building.
Television footage showed several people lying on the ground covered in blood and ambulances rushing to the scene. The blast came as Turkey was stepping up its role in the fight against the Islamic State group.
A Turkish government official confirmedthat the explosion occurred in the garden of a culture centre in Suruc. But he declined to provide any casualty figures.
The blast took place as a group from Turkish left-wing youth associations were preparing to make a press statement in Suruc, to announce they would cross into Kobane. The group was staying at the cultural centre.
Suruc, once a centre of silk-making, is now home to one of the biggest refugee camps in Turkey housing Syrians who have fled the bloody four-year conflict at home.
The camp, which opened in January, shelters about 35,000 refugees who crossed the border after Islamic State jihadists seized Kobane last year.
Many of the injured had been taken to hospitals in Suruc.
27 killed, several injured in Turkey blast
