Turkish officials and state-run media say two auto bombings targeting police stations in eastern Turkey have killed at least six people and wounded over 120.
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Three bomb attacks targeting Turkish security forces in the east of the country have killed 11 people and wounded almost 300 others, authorities said Thursday.
At least three police officers were killed and 217 wounded, 85 of them police officers in the attack.
A vehicle bombing in Van province late Wednesday killed a police officer and two civilians and wounded at least 73 people, the Associated Press reported.
Turkish officials blame the banned militant group Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK, for the attacks.
“We can confirm that a delegation (with) representatives of the Department of Justice and State will visit Turkey”, the official added, but declined to give any date for the visit.
The wave of attacks come as Turkey is focused on a clampdown on suspected followers of a movement led by US -based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, which the government accuses of orchestrating a failed military coup last month, that killed at least 270 people. Murat Zorluoglu, the governor for Elazig, said the blast killed at least three police officers and wounded 146 people.
Turkey has branded Gulen’s movement a terror organization and wants him returned to Turkey to face trial.
Van Governor Ibrahim Tasyapan said the PKK was behind the attack, and that police had apprehended a suspect, Anadolu reported.
The latest wave of attacks come as the government carries out a sweeping crackdown on those among the various branches of the military and civil service it says is responsible for a failed coup attempt last month.
Yildirim said in his comments in Elazig that FETO – the government’s name for Gulen’s network – had “handed over its mission” to the PKK.
Clashes between the PKK and Turkey’s security forces resumed past year after a fragile peace process collapsed.
Over 600 Turkish security personnel and hundreds of civilians have been killed since then in clashes between the government and the PKK.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price issued a statement condemning the attacks.
Amid these tensions, the US must also rely on Turkey as a partner in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and for its agreement to allow the USA military to use a base in Turkey to stage its air missions to fight ISIS in Syria.
Turkish President thanked Pakistan for supporting democracy in Turkey.
Amnesty International also condemned the auto bombings, which it labeled as “the latest in a series of reckless and brutal attacks”.
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On Thursday, authorities imposed a temporary blackout on media coverage of the bombing in Elazig, citing “public order and national security” concerns. The terrorist organization won’t find the right to live anywhere. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
