Dozens of people were injured in a vehicle bomb attack in Turkey on the first day of Eid al-Adha, an Islamic holiday.
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An earlier statement by the governor’s office alleged the bombers were affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
Footage of smoke rising from a building and people running from the scene is being broadcast on local television.
At least 48 people were wounded in a bomb attack near the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party headquarters in the Turkish city of Van, officials said.
Several hurt as blast hits eastern Turkish city of Van was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on September 12, 2016 and was last updated on September 12, 2016.
The attack came a day after the mayors of 24 Kurdish-run municipalities who were suspected of PKK links were stripped of office. Two police officers were amongst the injured, while CNN Turk states that Iranian nationals may be among the wounded, as Van is around 100km east of the Iranian border.
It ripped the front from a four-storey building but the business district, which is normally busy at that time on a Monday morning, was unusually quiet as it was the first day of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his government’s commitment to eliminating IS in Syria and the threat the group poses to Turkey.
Eker pointed out that residents of the region had stopped believing in the members of the PKK terrorist organization “because the public wants peace and brotherhood”.
Turkey’s army and global coalition forces on Wednesday started an operation to drive Islamic State jihadists out of a key Syrian border town, a statement from the Turkish prime minister’s office said. “You, as mayors and municipal councils, can not stand up and support terrorist organisations”, he told reporters after prayers outside an Istanbul mosque, shortly before the attack.
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In August, three people were killed and 71 injured, including civilians, when a auto bomb struck a police station in Van.
