Several Wounded in Turkey Blast, Authorities Probe Possible Terrorist Attack

Police secure the area after an explosion in central Istanbul, Turkey January 12, 2016. Reuters
Police secure the area after an explosion in central Istanbul, Turkey January 12, 2016. Reuters
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Several Wounded in Turkey Blast, Authorities Probe Possible Terrorist Attack

Police secure the area after an explosion in central Istanbul, Turkey January 12, 2016. Reuters
Police secure the area after an explosion in central Istanbul, Turkey January 12, 2016. Reuters

Seven people were wounded when an explosion targeted a bus carrying prison personnel in the Turkish coastal province of Izmir on Thursday, and authorities were investigating a possible terrorist attack, the local mayor said.

The bus was hit as it passed a garbage container at around 7:40 a.m, Levent Piristina, the mayor of Izmir's Buca district, said on Twitter.

Photographs he posted on social media showed its windows blown out and its windscreen shattered. The force of the blast appeared to have blown out some of the bus' panels, and the nearby street was littered with debris.

"We are getting information from police sources and they are focusing on the possibility of a terrorist attack," he said.

Izmir governor Erol Ayyildiz said one person was hospitalized but none of the injuries were life threatening,

Both state-run TRT Haber and private broadcaster Dogan news agency said the explosion was caused by a bomb placed in the garbage container that exploded when the shuttle bus passed.

No one immediately claimed responsibility. Both Kurdish and ISIS militants have carried out suicide and bomb attacks in major Turkish cities in recent years.



Iran Says It Warned US Destroyer to Move Away from Waters Monitored by Tehran

In this June 1, 2017 photo, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, foreground, (DDG 62) makes its way with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, through the Sea of Japan. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelsey L. Adams/US Navy via AP)
In this June 1, 2017 photo, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, foreground, (DDG 62) makes its way with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, through the Sea of Japan. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelsey L. Adams/US Navy via AP)
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Iran Says It Warned US Destroyer to Move Away from Waters Monitored by Tehran

In this June 1, 2017 photo, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, foreground, (DDG 62) makes its way with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, through the Sea of Japan. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelsey L. Adams/US Navy via AP)
In this June 1, 2017 photo, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, foreground, (DDG 62) makes its way with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, through the Sea of Japan. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelsey L. Adams/US Navy via AP)

Iran warned a US destroyer on Wednesday to change course after it approached waters being monitored by the country, leading the US ship to turn away, Iranian state media reported.

The US Navy and U.S. Central Command, which overseas US forces in the Middle East, had no immediate comment on the report.

The reported incident follows US strikes last month on Iranian nuclear facilities that Washington says were part of a program geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is for purely civilian purposes.

"US destroyer 'Fitzgerald' attempted to approach waters under Iran's monitoring in a provocative move", Iranian state TV said, adding that a Navy helicopter quickly approached the destroyer and issued a stern warning to leave the area.

The US destroyer threatened the Iranian helicopter, but moved out of the area upon continued warning, state TV said.

Iranian state media identified the vessel in question as "DDG Fitzgerald", adding the Iranian Army contacted the vessel asserting the helicopter was under its protection and asking the ship to change it direction to the south.