A string of bombings, blamed on Kurdish rebels and targeting Turkey’s security forces, killed at least 11 people and wounded 226 others, officials said Thursday.
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The first auto bombing hit a police station in the eastern province of Van late Wednesday, killing a police officer and two civilians.
Earlier, three police officers were killed and 140 people were injured as a result of a auto bomb attack on a police station in Turkey’s Elazig.
Greece’s foreign ministry says it has received an official extradition request from Turkey seeking the return of eight Turkish military personnel who fled to northern Greece by helicopter after an abortive coup in Turkey.
The prime minister raised Turkey’s alarm level after the attacks in Elazig, Van and Hizan across eastern Turkey.
Two more policemen and a civilian were killed in another auto bombing on Wednesday night in Van, another city in the east which has a mixed ethnic Kurdish and Turkish population.
The national defense minister of Turkey has said the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist group stands behind the attack.
“Once again, the attacks in Van and Elazig show how PKK and FETO work together”.
A source close to the Turkish government told AFP that the PKK was taking “advantage of the current atmosphere in Turkey”.
Clashes between the PKK and Turkey’s security forces resumed previous year after a fragile peace process collapsed.
Authorities say the assaults were carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has launched a campaign of auto bombings targeting police stations or roadside bomb attacks security force vehicles.
“The people see the real face of the PKK”, Isik said.
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It is not possible to independently verify the toll.
