Explosion in Diyarbakir kills 3, wounds 45

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – On Tuesday, three people were killed and dozens more injured in a car bomb attack targeting an armored police van in Turkey’s Kurdish southeastern city of Diyarbakir.

A Kurdistan24 team in Diyarbakir reported that in the Baglar neighborhood of the city, a vehicle equipped with explosives was remotely detonated when a police van passed. The explosion killed three people and wounded at least 45 others, including civilians and police officers.

According to a Kurdistan24 correspondent, dozens of civilians near the site and others sitting at a nearby cafe were wounded.

Ambulances immediately arrived  the at the explosion site where debris was scattered along a wide avenue.

Security sources told Kurdistan24 that the exploded armored police vehicle was holding seven detainees who are injured. Nearly four of them are members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who were under police custody.

Additionally, Diyarbakir Governor's Office said in a statement released on Tuesday that three people were killed in the attack while 45, including 12 police officers, were injured.

A senior official also told Reuters that some of the injured detainees in the exploded police vehicle were PKK members being taken to a hospital.

“[The PKK members in the exploded vehicle] may have been targeted for being suspected informants,” Reuters reported.

PKK's armed military wing, HPG, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Diyarbakir has been hit by a series of explosions in the last three months. The last one occurred on April 1 where seven police officers were killed, and 27 people injured when an explosion hit a police vehicle.

Reporting by Hisham Arafat

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany and Ava Homa