Turkey: Car bomb blast leaves two attackers, policeman and a civilian dead
A policeman and a civilian have fallen victims to a car bomb attack and gun assault on a courthouse in the Turkish city of Izmir, reports say.
According to Governor Erol Ayyildiz, a car had stopped in front of the Izmir courthouse, sparking an exchange with police, after which the car bomb detonated.
The attackers were reportedly armed with Kalashnikov rifles and grenades.
BBC reports that two of the three attackers also lost their lives in the incident on Thursday. A number of people were injured in the attack, with some lying in critical conditions.
A second car was destroyed in a controlled explosion and a third attacker was on the run, reports say.
Turkish officials have said initial findings points to Kurdish rebels as being behind the attack.
Kurdish fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have been fingered as masterminds of the attack, though still unofficially confirmed.
Lately, some big cities in Turkey have been targets for the so-called Islamic State and by Kurdish militants.
The PKK is fighting for an independent Kurdish state within Turkey, reports say.
It has carried out many attacks on Turkish security forces, particularly in the south-east.
