CCTV footage has emerged of the moment a car bomb exploded near a court in the Turkish coastal city of Izmir, killing two people.

Security forces subsequently shot dead two suspected militants who detonated the explosive-packed vehicle after being stopped at a checkpoint.

A third suspect is being hunted by police, said Turkey's Anadolu news agency.

Image: Cars were left in flames in the aftermath of the blast

The attackers, believed to be Kurdish PKK rebels, were armed with with assault rifles, rocket launchers and hand grenades, according to the authorities.

The blast happened close to an entrance used by judges, prosecutors and other staff.


A police officer and a court employee died in the explosion, while at least 10 more were injured.

A second vehicle which is thought to have belonged to the attackers was destroyed in a controlled explosion.

The scene after the attack

Turkey's deputy prime minister, Veysi Kaynak, said: "When you look at the preparations they had made, the weapons that were seized, the bombs and the ammunition, it is clear that a big massacre was planned.

"Praise God, they were not successful."

The blast follows a series of attacks, carried out by Islamic State or Kurdish militants, which have shaken the country.

Some 39 people died in a nightclub massacre in Istanbul during New Year's celebrations.

IS claimed it was a revenge attack for Turkey's military operations in Syria.

Police on Wednesday detained 20 people believed to have links to the nightclub attacker, who remains at large.

Last month, an offshoot of the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers' Party) claimed responsibility for twin blasts outside a football stadium in Istanbul that killed 38 people.