Turkish ruling party official killed in suspected Kurdish attack

An official of Turkey's ruling Justice and Devlopment Party (AKP) has been killed in an attack in the country's southeast on Tuesday, state media reported.

Turkish authorities believe that the attack against Deryan Aktert was by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Anadolu said. Aktert was the ruling party's top official in the town of Dicle in Diyarbakir province.

Authorities say that the assailants opened fire at a gas station owned by the slain official. There are no reports of any other casualties from the attack.

This attack comes just days after Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb outside a military checkpoint in southeast Turkey, killing ten soldiers and eight civilians.

Turkey immediately launched a military operation against the rebels in response.

"For the stability of our country, we will continue doing everything we can to save our homeland and our nation from the forces of terrorism," Turkish Prime Minist Benali Yildirim said in response to the blast on Sunday.

Ankara resumed operations against the PKK after the collapse of a fragile two-and-a-half year ceasefire last year.

Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to Anadolu.