Bombs hit two HDP buildings in southern Turkey, injuring at least three

ADANA - MERSIN









The street in front of the HDP headquarters in Adana is seen in the photo below, moments after the explosion on May 18











The incident marks the latest in a number of attacks against HDP offices across Turkey.











Bombs have hit two local headquarters of the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the southern Turkish provinces of Adana and Mersin, weeks before the June 7 general election. Hidden in a cargo parcel and a gift-packaged flower pot, the two bombs injured at least three people on May 18.A loud explosion rocked the second floor of the building where the HDP’s provincial HQ is based in Adana at the same time as an explosion at the party’s Mersin branch, according to Doğan News Agency.According to the HDP headquarters in Ankara, the explosion in Adana occurred in the cargo room of its local branch. In its Mersin branch, a flower pot that was sent on May 17 exploded when it was opened on May 18.More casualties were possibly avoided as party officials initially suspected that the pot could have been used to hide a wiretapping device, before deciding to remove them from the room and put them on the terrace.At least three people, including the HDP’s provincial co-chair Hüseyin Beyaz, were injured in Adana, while no casualties were reported in Mersin.HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş was set to hold a campaign rally in Mersin on May 18 ahead of the June 7 general election.The HDP says it has been exposed to 56 attacks over the course of just one month across Turkey, according to the Dicle News Agency.These attacks include attempts to target 16 election bureaus, and two of the attacks were armed.The attacks have taken place in metropolitan cities such as the capital Ankara and Istanbul, as well as other provincial cities such as Aksaray, Antalya, Trabzon, Uşak, Bilecik, Tokat and Rize, according to the report.No suspects have been found, apart from in the case of the attack on the HDP’s election bureau in Ankara.