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| Turkey explosion: At least three killed and more than 100 injured as car bomb rocks city of Elazig | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a car bombing in the Turkish city of Elazig. | |
| Witnesses said the blast struck near a local police station on Thursday morning, hours after another car bomb was detonated near the Iranian border. | Witnesses said the blast struck near a local police station on Thursday morning, hours after another car bomb was detonated near the Iranian border. |
| Local suspicion quickly turned to Kurdish separatist groups but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack. | Local suspicion quickly turned to Kurdish separatist groups but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack. |
| Footage showed dozens of people running from the explosion in Elazig, which partly destroyed several buildings and left the street strewn with rubble and overturned cars. | Footage showed dozens of people running from the explosion in Elazig, which partly destroyed several buildings and left the street strewn with rubble and overturned cars. |
| Inside the police station, officers searched for their colleagues through offices filled with debris, after windows were shattered and walls and ceilings blown down by the force of the blast. | Inside the police station, officers searched for their colleagues through offices filled with debris, after windows were shattered and walls and ceilings blown down by the force of the blast. |
| A large plume of smoke was seen rising from the area of the blast as emergency services gathered at the scene at 9.20am local time (7.20am BST). | A large plume of smoke was seen rising from the area of the blast as emergency services gathered at the scene at 9.20am local time (7.20am BST). |
| Murat Zorluoglu, the governor for Elazig, said the explosion killed at least three police officers and wounded 146 people, with at least 14 in serious condition. | |
| Kurdish militants have carried out frequent bomb attacks in south-eastern parts of Turkey in recent months but Elazig, in Eastern Anatolia, has not been an area of significant conflict. | Kurdish militants have carried out frequent bomb attacks in south-eastern parts of Turkey in recent months but Elazig, in Eastern Anatolia, has not been an area of significant conflict. |
| On Wednesday night, three people were killed and 73 - 53 civilians and 20 police officers - were wounded when a car bomb exploded near another police station in the eastern province of Van near the Iranian border. | |
| The Defence Minister, Fikri Isik, said the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was behind the attacks. | |
| “The people see the real face of the PKK,” he said. | |
| Clashes between fighters and the Turkish military resumed last year after a fragile peace process collapsed. | |
| More than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency, while human rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed. | More than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency, while human rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed. |
| Tens of thousands of people since the PKK, with is proscribed as a terrorist group by the British Government and others, took up arms demanding autonomy in Turkey in 1984. | Tens of thousands of people since the PKK, with is proscribed as a terrorist group by the British Government and others, took up arms demanding autonomy in Turkey in 1984. |
| The latest attacks came amid continuing international alarm over the government’s response to a failed coup to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. | The latest attacks came amid continuing international alarm over the government’s response to a failed coup to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. |
| Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said more than 40,000 people had been detained since the attempt on 15 July and about half have been formally arrested pending charges. | Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said more than 40,000 people had been detained since the attempt on 15 July and about half have been formally arrested pending charges. |
| Those arrested include journalists and academics accused of supporting the Gulen movement, which authorities blame for the coup, and thousands of public sector workers have been suspended or sacked. | Those arrested include journalists and academics accused of supporting the Gulen movement, which authorities blame for the coup, and thousands of public sector workers have been suspended or sacked. |
| Mark Toner, a spokesperson for the US State Department, raised concern over the closure of the pro-Kurdish Ozgur Gundem newspaper on Tuesday. | Mark Toner, a spokesperson for the US State Department, raised concern over the closure of the pro-Kurdish Ozgur Gundem newspaper on Tuesday. |
| “We would encourage Turkey, as it takes these kind of steps in the security realm, to be mindful of the impact that that kind of action would have on its democratic institutions,” he said. | “We would encourage Turkey, as it takes these kind of steps in the security realm, to be mindful of the impact that that kind of action would have on its democratic institutions,” he said. |
| Michael Horowitz, a senior analyst at the Levantine Group, told The Independent PKK attacks had increased in both number and sophistication since the failed coup, which saw thousands of army personnel discharged. | |
| “Kurdish insurgents have intensified their attacks against Turkish security forces, and are using car bombs to target both police stations as well as smaller targets, such as police convoys,” he said. | |
| “The PKK is taking advantage of the weakening of the army to increase its campaign of attacks.” | |
| Among the senior officers removed from their posts was General Adem Huduti, an alleged coup leader and the commander of Turkey's Second Army - the division in charge of south-eastern Turkey and the borders with Iraq, Syria and Iran. | |
| “He was a central piece in the fight against the PKK and his dismissal and arrest have left a void that the PKK is attempting to exploit,” Mr Horowitz added. | |
| “Beyond that, the PKK may see the aftermath of the coup as an unprecedented opportunity to put pressure on Erdogan's government, and force him to resume negotiations.” | |
| Additional reporting by Reuters | Additional reporting by Reuters |