The blast, which also wounded 17, occurred when the bombmakers were unloading the device, authorities said

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Four suspected bombmakers have been killed and 17 people wounded after an explosion ripped through a village in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish south-east, security sources and the interior ministry said.



The blast occurred on Thursday night in the Sarikamis district, about 25km (15 miles) from the city of Diyarbakir, as alleged Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) militants loaded explosives on to a small truck, according to the ministry. Electricity in Sarikamis was cut and homes near the blast site suffered damage, CNN Turk reported.

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A photograph taken from a police helicopter and provided to reporters by the ministry showed what appeared to be a massive crater in a field caused by the explosion. Two of the wounded were in critical condition, security sources said. Witnesses reported hearing the explosion as far away as Diyarbakir.

The blast followed a car bomb attack near a military facility earlier the same day in an Istanbul suburb that wounded seven people, and a car bombing in Diyarbakir on Tuesday that targeted police and killed three people.

Turkey has been hit by a series of bombings this year, including two suicide attacks in tourist areas of Istanbul blamed on Islamic State, and two car bombings in the capital, Ankara, which killed a total of 66 people. A PKK offshoot claimed responsibility.

After the blast, security forces set up checkpoints at Sarikamis and searched vehicles entering and leaving the village.