Civilians Killed as Large Explosion Hits Turkey’s Kurdish Region
(ANKARA, Turkey) — A large explosion, believed to be caused by a car bomb, hit the largest city in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast region on Friday. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said both police and civilians were killed but did not say how many.
The blast occurred in Diyarbakir’s Baglar district, near a building used by the riot police. The Diyarbakir governor’s office said it was believed to have been caused by a car bomb carried out by the rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said several ambulances were sent to the scene. The private Dogan news agency reported that as many as 30 people were hurt in the blast.
Turkey has been plagued by a series of deadly bomb attacks in the past 18 months, carried out by Kurdish militants or Islamic State group extremists.
The PKK has waged a three-decade-long insurgency against the Turkish state and is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies. A fragile cease-fire collapsed in 2015 and at least 700 state security personnel and thousands of Kurdish militants have been killed since then, according to Anadolu.
The blast came hours after authorities detained 11 pro-Kurdish lawmakers as part of ongoing terror-related investigations. Those detained include the co-chairs of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party and other senior officials.
Media reports said the explosion could be heard from several parts of the city and caused damage to nearby buildings.
Television footage showed people walking amid broken glass and other debris from a building where windows were blown out.
