Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith

Two soldiers killed in Turkey car bomb blamed on Kurds

Two soldiers were killed and four injured in the attack (REUTERS)

Two soldiers have been killed and four others injured in south-east Turkey after a car bomb exploded next to a military vehicle, Turkish officials have said.

The attack took place the day after Turkey launched airstrikes against Kurdish insurgents in northern Iraq, the first since a peace process began three years ago. Turkish authorities have blamed the attack on Kurdish rebels.

The vehicle was carrying military police officers through the town of Lice on Saturday to where Kurdish fighters were said to have blocked a main intersection, according to the governor’s office in Diyarbakir, a mainly Kurdish region.

Attackers also opened fire on a police station in Diyarbakir, sparking a gun-battle, according to the state-run Anadolu agency. There were no reported injuries in the attack and no group has yet claimed responsibility for either assault.

In pictures: Iraq crisis  

Turkey launched fresh air strikes against Isis fighters on Saturday. The strikes also targeted areas associated with the Kurdish Workers Party, known as the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by US authorities.

Turkish fighter jets struck Kurdish rebel shelters and storage facilities across the border in northern Iraq in the strikes, which the PKK have said will likely spell the end of a cease-fire set in 2013.

Tensions have been flaring with the Kurds in recent days following an Isis suicide bombing in a town near the border with Syria.

Kurdish groups have blamed the government for not doing enough to prevent Isis operations from being carried out.

Read more:
Turkey launches air strikes on Isis positions and Kurdish forces
Turkey joins West as a reluctant ally - but what took it so long?
Kurdish women's militia fighting for their families

On Wednesday, the PKK claimed responsibility for the killing of two policemen in the Kurdish majority city of Sanliurfa.

On Saturday the White House said Turkey has the right to defend itself against attacks by Kurdish rebels.

Spokesman Alistair Baskey strongly condemned recent attacks by the PKK and said it should renounce terrorism and resume talks with Turkey's government.

But Baskey also said both sides should avoid violence and pursue de-escalation.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.