Death toll climbs to seven in southeast Turkey bombing

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Local authorities on Friday said the death toll from Thursday’s bombing in southeastern Turkey has risen to seven, with 10 more people wounded.

The blast occurred in the evening of Sept. 12 in the Kulp District of Diyarbakir Province. The perpetrators had planted an improvised explosive device on a road in a rural area. The bomb detonated on a passing vehicle reportedly carrying workers from the region.

The victims were traveling to a firewood collection site, according to the local Diyarbakir government. Initial casualty reports indicated that 13 people had been injured and four killed.

Local sources told Kurdistan 24 that three of the wounded were in critical condition and later died while receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.

A statement issued by the Diyarbakir governor’s office confirmed that the number of deaths had risen to seven.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the office of the Diyarbakir Governor has blamed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group that has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish government for expanded Kurdish rights and self-rule.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered authorities to seek out and prosecute the perpetrators of the attack. Turkey, along with the US and EU, sees the PKK as a terrorist organization.

Tensions between the Kurdish community in Turkey and the government have heightened as Ankara engaged in a campaign of mass arrests against civilians and the media, as well as removed elected Kurdish officials from office over alleged links to the PKK.

In a sweeping move in August, Ankara deposed the mayors of the top three Kurdish metropolitan cities in the country just months after they were elected into office. The government also installed unelected Turkish bureaucrats.

Editing by Nadia Riva