Two Turkish soldiers killed, dozens wounded in car bombing
Two Turkish soldiers killed, dozens wounded in car bombing
Two soldiers have been killed and nearly 50 injured in a car bombing in Turkey.
2 min read
Diyarbakir has been the scene of fighting between Turkish and Kurdish forces [Getty]
A car bomb exploded at a military post in Turkey's restive Kurdish-dominated southeast, killing two soldiers and wounding nearly 50 people, a military source said on Tuesday.
Turkish authorities blamed the attack on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has killed hundreds of members of the security forces in a resurgent campaign of violence in the last few months.
Turkey has waged an offensive against the PKK after the collapse in 2015 of a two-year ceasefire with the group that has been a thorn in Ankara's side for three decades.
The renewed conflict has also struck at the heart of the country, with two attacks that killed dozens in the capital Ankara claimed by Kurdish rebels.
A radical PKK splinter group, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), claimed responsibility for the two suicide car bombings in Ankara on 17 February and 13 March.
More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding a homeland for Turkey's biggest minority. Since then, the group has pared back its demands to focus on cultural rights and a measure of autonomy.
Rocket attack
Meanwhile, two rockets fired from neighbouring Syria landed in the centre of Turkish border town Kilis - the main town near the Syrian border - on Tuesday, the private Dogan news agency reported.
Turkish authorities blamed the attack on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has killed hundreds of members of the security forces in a resurgent campaign of violence in the last few months.
The attack late on Monday targeted a military outpost in the Hani district of Diyarbakir province and left at least 46 people injured, including eight civilians, the source told AFP.
The death toll rose to two after one of the injured soldiers died in hospital.
The security forces launched a search for the attackers immediately after the bombing.Turkey has waged an offensive against the PKK after the collapse in 2015 of a two-year ceasefire with the group that has been a thorn in Ankara's side for three decades.
The renewed conflict has also struck at the heart of the country, with two attacks that killed dozens in the capital Ankara claimed by Kurdish rebels.
A radical PKK splinter group, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), claimed responsibility for the two suicide car bombings in Ankara on 17 February and 13 March.
More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding a homeland for Turkey's biggest minority. Since then, the group has pared back its demands to focus on cultural rights and a measure of autonomy.
Rocket attack
Meanwhile, two rockets fired from neighbouring Syria landed in the centre of Turkish border town Kilis - the main town near the Syrian border - on Tuesday, the private Dogan news agency reported.
Medical teams were dispatched to the scene.
At least four people were wounded when five rockets fired from northern Syria hit the town on Monday.
It was not immediately known who fired the rockets.
Turkey's army has launched artillery strikes on positions of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria after the militants recaptured an area near the Turkish border.
Turkish artillery fired shells from its border region of Kilis against IS targets, Turkish media reported this week.
The shelling comes after IS wrested back control of the town of al-Rai near Turkey, which rival rebels had captured last week.
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