One of the dead is the bomber. We are fortunate the loss of life wasn't worse.

Associated Press:

A suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive Friday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, killing himself and a guard at the entrance gate, officials said.

U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardione told reporters that a Turkish citizen was also wounded in the 1:15 p.m. blast in the Turkish capital.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but both Kurdish rebels and Islamic militants are active in Turkey.

The bomb appeared to have exploded inside the security checkpoint at the side entrance to the embassy, but did not damage the inside of the embassy itself.

TV footage showed the embassy door blown off its hinges. The windows of nearby businesses were also shattered by the power of the blast, and debris littered the ground and across the road.

Police swarmed the area and immediately cordoned it off and several ambulances were dispatched.

It could have been Kurdish separatists but their beef is with the Turkish government, not necessarily the US. The presence of al-Qaeda in Turkey as well as other jihadists on their way to fight in the Syrian civil war may indicate more likely culprits.

Prime Minister Erdogan is one of Syrian President Bashar Assad's fiercest and most relentless critics. Embarrassing him by carring out a terrorist attack on the US in relatively safe Ankara is also a possibility.