UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS QUOTES FROM GOVERNORSHIP
By Halil Ibrahim Sincar
MARDIN, Turkey (AA) – Three people have died and seven others, including civilians, have been injured in a bomb blast in Mardin, southeast Turkey, local authorities said on Saturday.
Mardin governorship said in a statement that two Turkish soldiers were martyred and one female civilian was killed when a PKK car bomb exploded at Cevizlik gendarmerie station.
Seven people were injured – three critically – in the attack, which occurred 12:45 p.m. local time (0945GMT), the statement said.
Tension is high in southeastern Turkey since the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU – resumed its 30-year armed campaign in July 2015.
Since then, nearly 600 security personnel, including troops, police officers and village guards, have been martyred and more than 5,000 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.