Two Turkish soldiers killed, dozens wounded in bombing

DIYARBAKIR, TURKEY (AFP) - Two Turkish soldiers were killed and more than 50 people wounded when a car bomb exploded at a military post in Turkey's restive Kurdish-dominated south-east, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday (April 12).

Turkish authorities blamed the attack on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has killed hundreds of members of the security forces in a resurgent campaign of violence in the last few months.

Davutoglu denounced the "vile attack" accusing what he termed the "terrorist organisation" of resorting to such attacks whenever it was backed into corner, in reference to the PKK.

The attack late on Monday targeted a military outpost in the Hani district of Diyarbakir province and left 52 people injured, including civilians.

The security forces launched a search operation to capture those responsible following the bombing, a military source told AFP.

Turkey has waged an offensive against the PKK after the collapse in 2015 of a two-year ceasefire declared by the group which has waged a insurgency against the Turkish state lasting more than three decades.

The renewed conflict has also struck at the heart of the country, with two attacks that killed dozens of people in the capital Ankara claimed by Kurdish rebels.

A radical PKK splinter group, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), claimed responsibility for the two suicide car bombings in Ankara on February 17 and March 13.

Over 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding a homeland for Turkey's biggest minority. Since then, the group has pared back its demands to focus on cultural rights and a measure of autonomy.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.