Death Toll Rises to 86 in Ankara Bombing Massacre

Pro-Kurdish HDP party pins Ankara bombing massacre on President Erdogan

Two massive explosions at a peace rally in the Turkish capital Ankara have killed at least 86 people and injured 186, authorities said.

The deadly explosions happened shortly after 10:00 local time, targeting Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), ahead of a peace rally.

Eyewitnesses said the explosions were carried out by suicide bombers and that there were no police personnel present near the crime scene when the bombing occurred. The riot police arrived at the scene about 15 minutes later, according to HDP Foreign Affairs Commission.

The HDP has also accused the Turkish police of firing teargas on the people who were helping the injured.

The leader of pro-Kurdish HDP party has blamed the “State.” On Thursday, he had accused the Turkey’s President Erdogan for the assassinations of two people in Kurdish regions, earlier this week.

“Selahattin Demirtaş, the co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), has claimed that the special operations forces who were sent by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) to predominantly Kurdish regions are committing murders in those areas,” said a report.

M4.4 Quake Strikes near Medford, Oklahoma

More earthquakes strike Oklahoma

The largest of five earthquake to strike Oklahoma, and the Kansas border area, in a 12-hour period to 09:20:43 UTC today, measured 4.4Mw.

Centered at 36.707°N, 97.906°W (about 18km SW of Medford, Oklahoma) the quake occurred at a depth of 6.4 km, reported USGS/EHP.

At least 153 earthquakes measuring ≥ 2.5Mw have occurred in the State of Oklahoma and the Kansas border area in the past 30 days.

Related Links

• Oklahoma Hit by Another Significant Earthquake July 28, 2015
• Super Clusters of Low-Level Seismicity Could Swamp Oklahoma July 15, 2015
• Rate of Earthquakes Rattling Oklahoma Increases June 12, 2015