Eight civilians and nine soldiers died after Sunday's explosion, news agencies reported. Repeating a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, the Anadolu Agency reported that the attack occurred as soldiers conducted car inspections at 9:45 a.m. outside a gendarmerie checkpoint on the Semdinli-Yuksekova highway, near the borders with Iraq and Iran. Little more information was immediately available: Turkish authorities imposed a temporary blackout on coverage of the attack, citing public order and national security reasons.

The explosion produced a crater 15 meters (50 feet) wide and 7 meters deep. An infantry station located behind the checkpoint also suffered heavy damage.

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak condemned the attack during a speech in Istanbul on Sunday, calling on all countries to stand together against terrorism. Hundreds of civilians have died in a yearlong government crackdown on groups fighting for Kurdish liberation in the region.

On Thursday, a bomb mounted to a motorcycle exploded near a police station in Istanbul, slightly wounding 10 people. On Friday, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons claimed responsibility. Police have since detained six people in connection with that attack.

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey Walking on rubble After more than three months of urban warfare, Turkish forces are pulling out of Diyarbakir, where they've been trying to eradicate militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). On Monday, shopkeepers were seen sweeping up broken glass and reopening stores in areas once held under curfew, but fighting continues in six districts, which remain closed to the public.

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey Damage in Sur The area worst hit by fighting was Sur, a historic district encircled by UNESCO-listed Roman era walls (visible in the center of the photo above). With streets too narrow for armored vehicles, the old city was well-suited for guerilla warfare and provided cover for militants trying to avoid ground and air attacks. Several historic sites were damaged as a result.

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey Back to normal Residents are slowly returning to areas where fighting took place and finding a neighborhood damaged beyond repair. Locals estimate heavy artillery rounds have hit more than half of the buildings in Sur. While the complete death count has yet to be confirmed, the Turkish government said it lost 271 soldiers in the battles.

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey Fragmented life Much of the street fighting has ended in Sur, but gun battles occurred on Monday night and there were seven deaths on Sunday, when PKK-sympathizers were caught inside a collapsed building. As people re-enter the recently opened corridors, they are faced with police checkpoints in and around the Sur district, and tensions remain high as helicopters circle overhead.

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey Ongoing war Despite recent skirmishes, Turkish forces are winding down operations in Diyarbakir and have pulled out completely from Cizre, Idil, Jilopi and Dargecit. At the same time, they are opening new fronts in other parts of the nation's Kurdish region. This week, new military campaigns began in Yuksekova, Nusaybin and Sirnak.

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey Ocalan's legacy Political graffiti is as common as bullet holes in Sur. Above, a woman passes a tag referencing Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the PKK, a group formed in the late 1970s to begin an armed struggle against the Turkish state for the expansion of Kurdish rights. At the moment, Kurds remain the largest group of stateless people in the world.

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey Collateral damage A local teenager holds a bullet that was lodged in the front door of his family's home. Throughout the street battles, Turkish forces used battering rams to enter households in Sur and clear the district of opposition fighters. The teenager, who wanted to remain anonymous, said Turkish forces destroyed homes to punish residents for harboring 'terrorists,' regardless of their affiliations.

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey Lookouts at every corner Two men push a cart through a lot recently cleared of sandbag trenches and rubble fallen from surrounding buildings. A man in a nearby bakery pointed out two lookouts on opposite corners of the lot. He said one worked for the government, while the other, who was sitting casually on a couch in the street, worked for the PKK.

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey Prospects of civil war "Without a stable Turkey, there cannot be a stable Europe or United States and this conflict can become a civil war very easily," said Ramazan Tunc, an advisor for the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), a socialist Kurdish group. "Just think about where the refugees from [a war like this] will go."

Picking up the rubble in troubled southeast Turkey To be rebuilt 'like Toledo' Once operations end in Diyarbakir, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the architecture in Sur would be restored to rival that of Toledo, Spain. "Our struggle will continue until public order is brought to every province, every village, every field, every mountain and plain and river on this land," he told Turkish media in February. Author: Diego Cupolo, Diyarbakir



mkg/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)