Ankara- A would-be suicide bomber failed to blow up former Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk in an attempted assassination attempt in Ankara on Wednesday, the Anadolu news agency reported. The woman, Didem Akman, was arrested at the Bilkent University after a detonator failed to trigger explosives she had strapped to her body.

"There was an explosion one metre behind me," Turk said. "My bodyguards subdued the attacker."

A second suspected suicide bomber was later arrested outside the university.

Turk said that Akman had shouted out that she was protesting against prison conditions, particularly those of left-wing political prisoners.

Turk was Justice Minister in 2000 when the government ordered a raid on Bayrampasa Prison in Istanbul to force inmates to move from the dormitory-style jail to single or double-person containment facilities.

Thirty-two inmates were killed in that raid. (dpa)