HATAY, Turkey — Eight police officers were killed and nine were wounded when a land mine exploded early Sunday in southeastern Turkey, the semiofficial news service Anatolian Agency reported.

Officials said that the officers were traveling from the town of Karliova to their base in Bingol Province, in the predominantly Kurdish southeast, when their vehicle hit the land mine. Kurdish separatist rebels are suspected of placing the explosive device, officials said.

The group of riot police officers was assigned to join other units to maintain security during a court case this week. The case involves Kurdish political activists who are charged with collaborating with the Kurdish Workers’ Party, known as the P.K.K. for its initials in Kurdish, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.