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 attack took place near a police checkpoint outside the party building, located in the heart of the city, the local governor’s office said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible.
Trustees were appointed to oversee 28 local administrations Sunday following the suspension of mayors accused of links to the PKK or the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
The explosion struck the AK building in a central district in Van on Monday.
Up to 48 people were reported injured in the blast, which Turkish officials blamed on the PKK.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his government’s commitment to eliminating IS in Syria and the threat the group poses to Turkey. “If mayors and town councilors finance terrorism by transferring public funds allocated to them to serve the people. they lose their democratic legitimacy”. Of the 19 wounded, two were police officers, the governor’s office said.
“Our security forces have fought and will continue to fight shoulder-to-shoulder until all terrorists are routed, and our borders are secured”, Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar said in remarks carried by the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag chided the USA ambassador after his embassy issued a statement on Sunday saying it hoped the appointment of the administrators would be temporary.
“If the state is ready… we have a plan and this problem can be ended in six months”, Mehmet Ocalan, who visited his brother on Sunday, quoted the PKK leader as saying.
The Turkish government granted permission for the family visit before the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha, countering alarm over Ocalan’s welfare. “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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Turkey’s Interior Ministry said the decision was in line with the state of emergency decreed after the failed July 15 military coup attempt.
