Turkey: 'At least 7' police officers killed in bomb blast in Diyarbakir

At least seven Turkish police officers have been killed and dozens of people – including civilians – wounded in a huge explosion near a bus station in the southeastern city of Diyarbaki. The city is in a part of Turkey where the population is predominantly made up of Kurds.

The explosion took place as an armoured vehicle containing members of Turkey's special forces drove past. Other vehicles were damaged, passers by injured and almost all the windows of a nearby high rise building shattered.

At least six ambulances rushed to the scene and the area was sealed off. Several areas of Diyarbakir along with other cities in the area have been under curfew since August 2015 and human rights organisations have spoken out about atrocities committed by Turkish forces.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had been due to visit Diyarbakir on 1 April. It is unclear if his visit will now take place.

Turkey's Dogan news agency has blamed "terrorists" for the attack. Suspicion is likely to fall on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) although there is also a possibility the attack was conducted by the Islamic State (Isis).

The PKK has fought a bloody insurrection against Turkey since 1984 as part of an aim to create a Kurdish state. Tens of thousands of people including civilians and troops have died in the region, and terror attacks conducted in places as far away as Ankara and Istanbul.

Since a crackdown on Kurdish militants began in December 2015 more than 1,000 have died from violence in the southeast of the country and cities like Cizre have been devastated by Turkish forces. Two bombs in Ankara by an offshoot of the PKK called the TAK have killed more than 60 people.

Turkey's long border with Syria and Iraq makes it relatively easy for IS (Daesh) terrorists to slip across the border. IS has attacked targets within Turkey before, though there have also been allegations that the Turkish government turns a blind eye to jihadists trying to reach Syria.