Turkey 'bomber' suspect arrested outside PM's house

Man carrying a fake bomb had called police five times to 'tip them off'

Turkish police secure the area after they shot and wounded a suspected suicide bomber close to the prime minister's office in Ankara, Turkey 21 November 2013 (EPA)

Turkish police have subdued and arrested a suspected bomber near Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office in the Turkish capital Ankara.

There were conflicting reports over the incident, with the Anadolu Agency saying initially that police had shot and wounded the suspect.

The man, believed to be aged in his early 50s, had called police five minutes beforehand to tip them off and is thought to have psychological problems, Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler told reporters.

Turkish media published a photograph of what appeared to be a white corset and a slab of putty wrapped in cling film, attached by wire to a small back device that police had seized from the man.

"There is no suicide bomber. The suspect tipped off police about himself. He is thought to have psychological problems," Guler said.

"A device made to look like a bomb was found on the suspect. Police fired into the air during the incident. Nobody was shot," he added, denying initial media reports that the man had been shot and wounded by police.

Police could be seen sealing off streets in the area near the building in footage broadcast by state TV.

Earlier, an official said police had been investigating whether the man was carrying explosives after he refused to show his identity card at a checkpoint near the building.

Mr Erdogan was not at his office at the time of the incident and it is understood that no one has been injured in the gunfire.

Additional reporting by agencies