At least 27 people have been reportedly injured, including two in critical condition, after a vehicle bomb exploded on Monday morning at a police checkpoint near the headquarters of the AKP party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Kurdish-majority city of Van, in eastern Turkey, according to local police sources quoted by CNN Turk.
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The bombing came a day after Turkey appointed new administrators in 24 Kurdish-run municipalities, majority in the largely-Kurdish southeast, after removing their mayors over suspected militant links, triggering protests.
Hundreds of people have been killed and injured in Turkey in recent months in attacks the government says were carried out by Kurdish militants or the Islamic State group.
Meanwhile, the interior ministry said in a statement that the 28 sacked mayors – 12 of whom have been arrested – were facing a probe over suspected “assistance and support” to the Kurdish militants and to Gulen’s organisation.
But clashes have also reportedly broken out between Turkish and Kurdish forces in the area.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkey had a duty to defeat the Islamic State extremist group, adding its operation inside Syria was a first step towards this goal.
The Turkish government granted permission for the family visit before the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha, countering alarm over Ocalan’s welfare.
The crackdown has coincided with a purge of journalists, politicians, government workers, soldiers, teachers and others after a failed coup attempt in July. Although there is no official word on fatalities, some unconfirmed sources suggest that around 40 people have been injured in the explosion. The HDP, the third-largest party in parliament, decried what it said was an “administrative coup” and declared the move illegal.
“Our government took this decision based on all this evidence”, he told reporters in Istanbul.
However, Turkey’s Decree Law No. 674 gives the government temporary authority to replace the mayors, along with city council members, who are actively engaged or actively supporting terrorism.
An earlier statement by the governor’s office alleged the bombers were affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
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In Batman, another group from the HDP gathered to protest the assignments to four municipalities in the province.
