Three people were killed and about 70 were injured in a car bomb attack on a police station in Turkey’s eastern city of Van, which borders Iran.
The attack targeted a police headquarters in the central Ipekyolu district of Van city, Van governorate official Mehmet Parlak was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency.
UPDATE: 3 killed, 71 injured in bomb attack on Turkish police station near Iranian border https://t.co/Gq3qaZDt3R pic.twitter.com/zLz0ZYNvcm
— RT (@RT_com) August 18, 2016
Among the injured, three are said to be in a serious condition while 17 are police officers, the ruling AK Party’s provincial head Zahir Soganda told Anadolu Agency.
PHOTOS: First images of the scene of the car bomb attack in Van #Turkey – @Amedo__Med pic.twitter.com/I5Leak2uMY
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) August 17, 2016
Though no one has claimed responsibility for the attack as yet, local officials and Turkish media are blaming Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, since the group has targeted police and military installations in the past.
Van’da polis merkezine bomba yüklü araçla saldırıdan sonra olay yerinden ilk fotoğraflarhttps://t.co/B2Sklx0Cq1 pic.twitter.com/QvalLsi9Ov
— T24 (@t24comtr) August 17, 2016
This is the second such attack in less than a week. On August 15, six people, including four police officers and a child, were killed when a bomb inside a car exploded outside a police station in southeastern Turkey.
(Feature image: File photo of car bombing in Ankara in Mar 2016 / Source: AFP)