By Ahmet Kaplan
UPDATES DEATH TOLL, NUMBER OF WOUNDED
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AA) – A child was killed and five police officers were martyred in a PKK car-bomb attack on a traffic police station Monday in Turkey's southeastern province of Diyarbakir.
The Diyarbakir Governor’s Office said in a statement that 45 people, including seven police officers, were also hurt in the attack on the Martyr Chief of Police Murat Ucar Regional Traffic Check Station along the Diyarbakir-Batman highway.
The governor’s office statement added that the attack also targeted civilians, killing two innocent people, including the child.
Twenty-nine out of the 45 injured have been discharged from hospital.
The attack occurred at 1.10 p.m. local time (1010 GMT).
Diyarbakir Court of Peace banned broadcasts about the deadly attack, citing public safety and the ongoing police investigation.
Some of the wounded were taken by ambulance to hospitals in Diyarbakir, whereas others were airlifted to Dicle University Hospital.
There is a large crater visible on the highway.
An operation was launched in the region to apprehend the attackers.
The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.
Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists have been killed.
*Emin Avundukluoglu contributed to this story from Ankara.