Blast kills 3 in Turkey capital Ankara

A powerful bomb attack killed three people and injured at least 15 in the centre of the Turkish capital Ankara today, Interior Minister said.

"Three citizens were killed and 15 were injured, five of whom are in critical condition," Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said in televised remarks.

What caused the blast was not immediately clear but Sahin said "there is a high possibility that it was a terrorist attack."

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said in early remarks that a bomb attack caused the explosion.

A previous official toll stood at 15 wounded.

The blast, which occurred near the Cankaya district administration office, blew out windows of shops and offices in the surrounding area, damaged cars and started a fire which was later put out by firefighters at the scene, media reports said.

The offices are near downtown Kizilay square in Ankara, a city of four million inhabitants and home to many government buildings as well as military headquarters.

Kurdish rebels have conducted bomb attacks in Turkey's urban areas in the past.

The blast comes at a time when Turkish officials threatened to launch an incursion by its ground forces against Kurdish rebel bases operating in northern Iraq after a recent spate of attacks.