Blast in Turkey's Diyarbakir kills policeman, wounds seven

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – A car bomb attack claimed the life of a police officer on Tuesday and wounded seven people in Diyarbakir, Kurdistan of Turkey (Bakur).

The Kurdistan24 office in Diyarbakir learned that eight people were initially injured in the explosion that took place in the Dicle district (known as Piran in Kurdish).

“The blast occurred at about 10:10 a.m. near the public hospital when a police van passed,” the office of Diyarbakir governor reported. “The explosion wounded eight people, including two police officers. One officer was in critical condition, and six civilians were wounded.”

A shopkeeper at the end of the street where the explosion occurred told Kurdistan24 that a parked car laden with explosives was detonated by remote control as a vehicle carrying police staff passed.

The governor’s office added that the wounded civilians were transported to a public hospital in the Dicle district while the police officers were transported to Diyarbakir Military Hospital.   

Kurdistan24 learned from Diyarbakir Military Hospital that one of the wounded policemen eventually succumbed to his injuries.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, Turkey's leading secular media Hurriyet Daily News reported that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was responsible for the assault.

Diyarbakir has been hit by a series of similar explosions in the last four months.

On May 10, three people were killed and about 45 were wounded in a car bomb attack.

On April 1, seven police officers were killed, and 27 people injured when a police vehicle was exploded.

Turkey has been facing growing adverse reaction from the conflict in Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.

Additionally, there has been a renewed conflict with Kurdish fighters since a ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government collapsed last July.

This year, a series of suicide bombings hit Turkey, including two in its largest city Istanbul, blamed on the Islamic State (IS), and two in the capital, Ankara, which were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK).

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany and Ava Homa