Powerful explosion targets police checkpoint in Turkish city of Cizre, killing eight

Local reports blame PKK Kurdish extremists for the car bomb attack that targeted police forces.

Turkey Cizre car bomb attack — A Turkish soldier stands guard at a check point on the main road between Mardin and Cizre near the southeastern town of Midyat Sertac Kayar/Reuters

A powerful car bomb ripped through a police checkpoint in the Turkish city of Cizre, killing eight policemen and injuring 45.

Preliminary reports blame Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) extremists for the attack, although they are yet to be verified.

The explosion took place at about 6.30am local time on Friday (26 August) targeting a police checkpoint in Turkey's southeastern province of Sirnak, which borders both Iraq and Syria.

Images posted on social media show heavily damaged buildings in the area and ambulances rushing to the spot. The police headquarters in the vicinity was also damaged in the attack.

Turkey's Anadolu news agency said several injured people have been taken to hospital amid unconfirmed reports of deaths of security personnel. Cizre has been witnessing increasing counter-terror operations in the recent past as Turkish forces are taking on Kurdish extremists.

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