World

Turkish troops killed in 'Kurdish PKK suicide blast'

August 2, 2015 6:12 pm

Two Turkish soldiers have been killed and 31 wounded in a suicide attack by Kurdish PKK militants, the Turkish military says.

A tractor laden with explosives was driven at a military police station, a statement said.

The attack happened early on Sunday near the town of Dogubayezit in Agri province, near the border with Iran.

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Since 24 July, Turkey has carried out hundreds of air raids on PKK bases on both sides of the Iraq-Turkey border.

A Turkish state news agency, Anadolu, said the tractor was carrying two tons of explosives that were detonated by a suicide bomber.

Turkey’s army said in a statement that “long-range guns” were also found. Four of the injured were in a serious condition.

The statement said the Karabulak Gendarmerie Station was hit at around 03:00 local time on Sunday (midnight GMT).

Images in the Turkish press showed a badly-damaged building with the roof destroyed.

One report said the blast was so strong that houses in a village several hundred metres away were hit by debris and some residents were slightly injured.

The Dogan news agency added that militants also set up ambushes on roads to prevent medical teams getting to the scene.

There has been no comment from the PKK so far.

AFP news agency said it would be the first time the group was accused of deploying a suicide bomber during recent clashes.