A roadside bombing explosion targeting a police vehicle detonated in the Guroymak District of Turkey’s southeastern Bitlis Province, killing five police and three nearby civilians, including two children.
Security officials believe that the bomb was planted inside a manhole and was detonated remotely when the police vehicle was passing. Four other people were reported injured in the bombing.
So far there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, but officials say they suspect the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been launching a growing number of attacks against security forces nationwide.
The Turkish military has been fighting an increasingly bloody battle with the PKK in recent months, including a large number of strikes inside Iraqi Kurdistan. The Iraqi government has objected to the strikes and demands that they stop.