Rescuers tended to the injured lying in the street next to piles of glass

"We have seen a vicious, ruthless terror attack at Ankara's busiest time," said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was visiting the scene.

The blast occurred during evening rush hour at the entrance to a shopping centre in the district of Ulus.

A Pakistan national was among the dead. The area has been cordoned off and an investigation has begun.

Unconfirmed reports suggest an explosive device may have been left at a nearby bus stop.

Recent attacks

Much of the front of one building was ripped off by the blast at the Anafartalar shopping centre.

TV footage showed several people lying seriously injured on the pavement surrounded by piles of concrete and glass. Other people, possibly passers-by, were hurt by flying glass.

"There was a sudden explosion, everything turned to dust. I could hear people screaming," eyewitness Cenk Yedier told AP news agency.

Turkey has been hit by bombings in recent years. Some have been blamed on Kurds and others on Islamic militants.

In November 2003, more than 60 people were killed by a series of suicide bombings in Istanbul which the authorities linked to al-Qaeda.

Kurdish rebels carried out a spate of attacks on tourist sites in Turkey last year, killing more than a dozen people.

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