Turkey's top general said today a bomb attack which killed five people including three children in the city of Diyarbakir would only strengthen Turkey's resolve to crack down on Kurdish separatist guerrillas.
Yesterday's attack on a military service vehicle in the mainly Kurdish southeast's largest city reinforces pressure on politicians and generals to keep up an aerial bombardment campaign against separatist guerrillas in northern Iraq.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the blast - which ripped through the vehicle as it passed near a school - but authorities blamed the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
"We are saddened by acts of terror but such incidents only increase our determination," General Yasar Buyukanit, head of Turkey's powerful military General Staff, said during a visit to Diyarbakir today. He said the attack was aimed at civilians as well as the military.
Turkey's government and generals have said the strikes against PKK positions in neighbouring northern Iraq will continue "for as long as necessary".
The Turkish army has massed up to 100,000 troops near the mountainous Iraqi border but has held back from a full-scale invasion. Commandos have conducted limited raids into Iraqi territory.
Diyarbakir, a mainly Kurdish city of about 1 million people, is home to large numbers of troops and security sources said the targeted vehicle was carrying 46 army personnel.
The security sources said 110 people had been injured in the blast, and eight were in a serious condition. They said five people were killed, including three children.