Turkey: 5 killed as car bomb explodes outside police station

At least five people died and 36 others sustained injuries when a car bomb exploded at a police station in Turkey's south-eastern Diyarbakir province. According to Dogan news agency, the car bomb was detonated outside the entrance of the police station, causing heavy damage to the building and surrounding structures. The police station was also attacked with rockets and long-range weapons immediately after the blast.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. But government officials blamed it on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The car bomb attack in Cinar district is believed to have occurred overnight on 13-14 January in Cinar district. According to reports, a woman and child were among the deceased, while many others were trapped under the rubble of the damaged building.

Earlier, self-described Kurdish activist Gilgo on Twitter claimed that PKK also carried out attacks in the towns of Bismil, Cizre, Mardin, Silopi, Sirnak, and Van. According to The Guardian, a police station in Midyat town, in Mardin province, was attacked with rocket launchers, but the attacks on other towns could not be verified.

After more than two years of ceasefire, fighting between government troops and PKK militants resumed in July 2015. In recent weeks, the government imposed curfew at three locations in the south east in a bid to crack down on PKK militants.

Since the end of the truce, Turkey – which is part of the US-led coalition forces fighting against Islamic State (Isis) in Iraq and Syria – has been accused of carrying out air strikes on PPK bases in Iraq, where the militant group is fighting against the IS (Daesh).