Update: 8 dead, 100+ injured as blast hits near police HQ in Turkey's Diyarbakir

RT
Fri, 04 Nov 2016 08:55 UTC

© Reuters TV / Reuters

Smoke rises from an explosion in a central district of Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, in this still image taken from video November 4, 2016

At least 8 people have been killed and over 100 injured in a powerful explosion that rocked the city of Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey, which is home to a predominantly Kurdish population, Hurriyet newspaper reported, citing Turkey's prime minister.

The death toll was announced by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Those killed include two police officers, five civilians, and one person suspected of being a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), he said.

The blast reportedly took place in the city's Baglar district near a police station on Friday, a security source said, as cited by Reuters.

According to Turkey's NTV channel, a car bomb was the likely cause of the explosion.

The incident happened just hours after the two co-leaders of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) and at least 11 of its MPs were arrested overnight as police raided homes in Ankara and Kurdish-majority areas in eastern Turkey.

The lawmakers were detained after "failing to appear for a summons to testify as part of a counter-terrorism investigation," Anadolu state news agency reported. The testimonies are connected with "terrorist propaganda" probes related to the Kurdish militant group PKK, and pro-Kurdish protests that ended in violent clashes in October of 2014, which HDP co-chair Demirtas is accused of inciting.

Turkish authorities also blocked access to social media sites on Friday, including Twitter and WhatsApp messenger, an internet monitoring group called Turkey Blocks reported, as cited by Reuters.

Southeast Turkey is an area predominantly populated by Kurds, where Ankara is conducting an operation against the PKK, which it considers to be a terrorist organization. Turkish government forces have been accused of large-scale abuse against the civilian population since launching a crackdown on the region in July of 2015.

Comment: See also: Deadly blast rocks Turkish police HQ in Kurdish region, string of other attacks also reported

Update: ISIS claims responsibility for Diyarbakir bombing as Turkish govt blames Kurds

© Sertac Kayar / Reuters

People walk past a damaged car after a blast in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 4, 2016

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL) has claimed responsibility for a car bomb blast in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir that killed at least 9 people and injured over 100, Reuters reports. It comes after Ankara attributed the attack to Kurdish militant group PKK.

The agency cited the terrorist group's Amaq news agency claiming IS carried out the Friday morning attack, which targeted a riot police building in one of the largest cities in southeast Turkey.
...
In the aftermath of the explosion, the Diyarbakir governor issued a statement, claiming that the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was behind the attack. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also attributed the attack to the PKK, saying that one of the deceased was a suspected member of the outlawed group. Ankara has accused HDP of having links to the PKK.

The EU has condemned the bombing, laying the blame on the PKK, with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini issuing a statement in which she reiterated that "the EU considers the PKK to be a terrorist organization," while expressing condolences to the victims.

Washington has echoed the statement, urging the PKK "to cease its senseless, brutal attacks," with US State Department spokesman John Kirby calling the blast an "indefensible bombing."At the same time, he also accused the Turkish government of "undermining confidence in Turkey's democracy and economic prosperity," with its policy of Internet shutdowns. Earlier, Kirby also said that the Washington is "deeply concerned" with the Turkish government's crackdown on the opposition.