TURKEY:At least four people were killed and 52 injured yesterday when a bomb destroyed a military vehicle in a southeastern Turkish city, said prime minister Tayyip Erdogan. The Anatolian state news agency later put the death toll at five and said it included two school students.
Diyarbakir is the biggest city of mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey and home to large numbers of troops who are battling PKK Kurdish rebels both inside Turkey and in nearby northern Iraq. The blast will keep up pressure on Turkey to strike PKK positions in northern Iraq.
"We will continue our fight against terrorism with the same determination, whether domestically or internationally," Mr Erdogan said. Six people had been seriously injured in the blast, he added. Diyarbakir's governor said the total number of those hurt in the blast was 68. He said the bomb had been set off by remote control.
Turkish television showed vehicles engulfed in flames as ambulances and firefighters rushed to the scene. One man's face was covered in blood.
"The place where the explosion happened was full of people, there was a private school right in front of it," a police officer said. A large hotel and shopping centre are also close to the site of the blast, as well as large military installations.
Several explosions happened one after another, witnesses said, but it was not clear if these were caused by exploding fuel tanks or another bomb. Turkish security forces have been on alert over the new year for possible attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its supporters.
A woman was killed last week in a bomb blast in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, and an explosion in a rubbish bin wounded three people on Wednesday in the city. Authorities suspect the PKK was behind both attacks, although no one has claimed responsibility.
Turkey's government and top generals have said the aerial bombing campaign of PKK positions in northern Iraq will continue "for as long as necessary".
Up to 100,000 troops have been massed near the mountainous Iraqi border but so far Turkey has held back from a full-scale invasion. Commandos have conducted limited raids into Iraqi territory.
Ankara says it has the right to hit the PKK in Iraq under international law. The PKK has been using northern Iraq as a launchpad to stage attacks which have killed dozens of Turkish troops over the past few months. - ( Reuters)