One Dead, 18 Injured in Turkey Car Explosion

Local Editor

A car bomb targeted a military vehicle in southeast Turkey on Sunday.
According to Turkish officials " the blast killed an 11-year-old child and wounded 18 other people."

The incident happened when a police special forces armored vehicle passed the entrance to the town of Semdinli, near Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran, the scene of frequent conflict between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants.
Most of the wounded were believed to be passers-by, with two reported to be injured and in a serious condition. "Police in the armored vehicle suffered only light wounds," Dogan news agency reported.

"This cowardly attack was right next to a place where weddings are held. Unfortunately there were civilian losses," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of his AK Party, announcing the death of the 11-year-old child.
Meanwhile, police launched a search for the perpetrators and to see if there were any other car bombs in the area, security sources said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Kurdish rebels have carried out similar attacks on security targets in the past.
The blast follows an escalation of Kurdish rebel attacks targeting Turkey's security forces in the southeast, triggering full-fledged military operations in the region.
On Thursday, another car exploded outside a military barracks in a southern Turkey town near Syria, lightly injuring four people, in an attack blamed on Kurdish rebels.


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org