3 Soldiers Killed in Car Bomb Attack in Turkey's Gaziantep
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Three Turkish soldiers were killed and 14 others wounded in an attack Sunday in the Kurdish-dominated southeast blamed on militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the army said.
The attack took place in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province, where the army has been conducting a military operation backed by a curfew against the PKK, it said.
Turkish media said the PKK opened fire with rockets on an army bomb disposal team.
Nine of the wounded were police officers, Ali Yerlikaya, governor of Gaziantep province, which also borders Daesh-controlled territory in Syria, said, according to CNN.
Footage showed pieces of a wrecked vehicle near the station gates and several ambulances and fire brigade trucks at the scene of the blast, which it said was felt from kilometers away, while windows in nearby buildings were shattered.
One of the main cities of Turkey's southeast, Gaziantep has a population of around 1.5 million and is also a major hub for refugees who have fled the war in neighboring Syria.
The attack comes with Turkey on edge after two deadly attacks in Istanbul this year blamed on extremists and a pair of attacks in Ankara that were claimed by Kurdish militants and killed dozens.
Police security has been stepped up across the country Sunday as Turkish leftist and labor activists prepare to celebrate May Day, an event that often ends in clashes with security forces.
