3 killed, 45 wounded in bomb attack in southeastern Turkey

Three people were killed, 45 others, including 12 police officers, were wounded on Tuesday in a car bomb attack at a police shuttle in southeastern Diyarbakir province of Turkey, governorate of the province said in a statement.

Seven of the wounded in the police vehicle were detainees that were being taken to hospital for health check. The detainees were suspected members of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK). Three injured have lost their lives at the hospital.

The explosion in the district of Baglar of Kurdish populated Diyarbakir province was reportedly heard from across the city.

Seven police officers were killed and 27 people wounded when a car bomb hit a police vehicle in Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir ion March 31.

Turkey has been rocked by waves of violence since a ceasefire between the PKK and the government collapsed in July.

Turkish security forces have launched a major campaign against the group in the southeast of the country. The government has declared curfew in several districts of Diyarbakir province.

More than 400 members of Turkish security forces and thousands of PKK members have been killed since last July in confrontations inside Turkey and in northern Iraq.

Over 40,000 people have been killed in clashes with the PKK since 1984, when the PKK started its first offensive. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union and Turkey.

Turkey is also facing an increased terror threat from Islamic State militants who have staged several deadly suicide bombing attacks in Turkish cities in the past year.

Source: XINHUA