Source: Xinhua| 2019-09-13 19:29:17|Editor: Wu Qin

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ANKARA, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Up to seven civilians have been killed in an explosion caused by roadside improvised explosives in Turkey's southeastern province of Diyarbakir, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Friday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

"We have seven of our people dead and 10 injured in this terrorist attack. One of the injured has been discharged from hospital, others are still being treated for their wounds," Soylu told reporters in Diyarbakir, after visiting injured civilians in the hospital.

The blast occurred just after 6 p.m. local time on Thursday in Diyarbakir's Kulp district as a vehicle carrying villagers was passing, according to local authorities.

The explosives were believed to have been placed by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, the Diyarbakir governor's office said in a statement.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The conflict has since the early 1980s claimed the lives of 40,000 people. The armed movement resumed its campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015 after a brief truce.