Ankara was a small provincial town when it became Turkey's capital 93 years ago. Today, it is the country's second-largest city with a population of 5 million. Over the past five months, three massive bombings have struck the city, claiming some 170 lives and leaving residents on tenterhooks. Fears are rife that this once-tranquil city is on its way to becoming another Middle Eastern capital mired in terror and bloodshed.

The string of attacks began Oct. 10, when two Islamic State (IS) militants blew themselves up in a crowd gathered for a peace rally near the main train station, killing 102 people. Then, on Feb. 17, two suicide bombers from the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a radical group said to be an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), slammed an explosives-laden car into a military bus convoy exiting the barracks a few hundred meters from parliament and the General Staff headquarters. The huge explosion, which killed 29 people, most of them army personnel, was heard across the capital, sending shockwaves among residents.

To soothe jitters, a few days later Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu introduced preparations for a special security plan, but only three weeks later, on March 13, Ankara was thrown into deeper shock after another suicide car bombing, also claimed by the TAK and similar to the previous one. It struck Kizilay Square, the very heart of the city, only 200 meters (0.1 miles) from the Prime Ministry.

The blast, echoing across the city, targeted a transport hub, claiming 37 lives. The mayhem took residents' fear and panic to new highs, with the press drawing comparisons between Ankara and Baghdad. The daily Cumhuriyet reported that Ankara’s death toll from terrorism since October surpassed those of Beirut, Kabul and Mogadishu.