Police and residents help injured people lying on the street after an explosion rocked a shopping mall, killing four and injuring 60, in Ankara yesterday. - Reuters

ANKARA (Reuters):

A bomb outside a crowded shopping mall in Turkey's capital Ankara killed five people and injured at least 60 yesterday, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said.

"We have seen a vicious, ruthless terror attack at Ankara's busiest time," Erdogan told reporters at the scene of the blast. He said steps would be taken after this attack but did not elaborate.

The extensive blast comes ahead of the busy summer tourism season and July general elections.

Erdogan said four Turks and one Pakistani were killed in the rush hour blast in the crowded and historic Ulus district in central Ankara, a heavily protected capital which rarely sees bomb attacks. Four Pakistanis were also among the wounded, he said.

A security source, who declined to be named, told Reuters all eyes were on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) - which is waging an armed struggle against the Turkish state for greater Kurdish rights - saying the bombing bore the hallmarks of theoutlawed guerrilla movement.

Damage to property

Shop windows were shattered, debris strewn across the street and police cordoned off the area as rescue workers carried injured people, many covered in blood, into ambulances.

"This is the most horrific scene I have ever seen. It gives me great grief,"Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek said, adding the blast occured at the entrance of the Anafartalar mall.

Three bodies, badly mutilated, were still lying in the street in front of the 5-storey building where the blast occurred, a Reuters witness said.

Police officers at the scene said A-4 explosives were believed to be the cause of the blast. A security source told Reuters the explosives believed used in the Ankara blast were similar to ones used by the PKK.

Police have detained seven people in connection with the bomb, Turkish broadcaster NTV said.

Armed forces chief of General Staff, General Yasar Buyukanit visited the bomb site. He said in comments broadcast on NTV, that he feared similar blasts could hit other large cities.