Turkish city of Gaziantep hit by deadly bombing
At least eight people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a bomb attack in south-eastern Turkey, security sources and media say.
The suspected car bomb exploded close to a police station in the city of Gaziantep near the Syrian border, officials said.
Police officers were reported to be among the casualties and media showed a bus and other vehicles on fire.
No group has so far said it carried out the attack.
However, rebels from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) are active in south-eastern Turkey, which has a Kurdish majority.
Gaziantep's governor Erdal Ata said the explosion had been caused by a remote-controlled car bomb, the Dogan agency said.
TV footage showed fire crews dousing burning cars and bystanders examining the wreckage of cars and at least one bus.
A crowd of angry men chanted slogans against Kurdish rebels and their jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
The Hurriyet news website said 64 people had been wounded.
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, in the nearby town of Antakya, says the area has recently become home to tens of thousands of Syrians.
Most have fled the fighting at home, he says, but some are fighters themselves and the Turkish authorities will be on high alert for any suggestion that the conflict in Syria could be spilling over into Turkey
Earlier on Monday, two Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in a mine blast in south-eastern Hakkari province. Turkish officials blamed the attack on the PKK.
Clashes between the PKK - which seeks autonomy for the Kurds - and Turkey's armed forces have increased in south-eastern Turkey over the past year.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Turkish city of Gaziantep hit by deadly bombing
via bbc.co.uk
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