At least eight killed and dozens injured in car bomb blast at police station

At least eight police officers have been killed in a car bomb attack in southeast Turkey. Dozens of other people were injured in the blast, which happened near the headquarters of an anti-riot police force in the town of Cizre. Rebels from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party are said tohave carried out the attack at a police checkpoint using a truck laden with explosives. Turkey’s health minister Recep Akdag said that more than 70 people were wounded in the attack and that the death toll was unclear while some reports put it as high as 11.

PKK car/truck bombing at riot police HQ in Cizre reportedly kills 11, wounds 78

Twitter user Ankaralı Jan

Cizre is in Sirnak, a province that borders both Syria and Iraq and has a largely Kurdish population. The PKK, widely regarded as a terrorist organisation, has been involved in almost daily clashes in the region since July 2015. In the latest incident, pictures showed the police building had been completely gutted by the power of the blast, reduced to a shell surrounded by a pile of rubble. Nearby buildings sustained severe damage and some were still on fire, TV footage showed. A dozen ambulances and two helicopters were sent to the scene.

cizre