3 January 2008 Diyarbakır bombing

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On January 3, 2008, at an estimated local time of 16:50 (14:50 GMT), a car bomb exploded in the city of Diyarbakir in the south-eastern Turkey.^[1]^[2]

1 Target
2 Timing
3 Injuries
4 Casualties
5 Perpetrators
- 5.1 Reaction
6 References

[edit] Target

First reports from the area indicated that the bomb, which exploded in the Dagkapi district of Diyarbakir on Thursday evening, targeted a military service vehicle that had been carrying 46 army personnel as it passed near a school. The district is known to have a very heavy Turkish military presence because of the military helicopter base, hospitals and the military housings around the area. It's worthy to note that an unexploded bomb was found two years ago near the location of Thursday's blast. The Turkish televisions have been carrying pictures of the huge blaze caused by the blast, which it says could be heard 3km (two miles) away.^[2]^[3]

[edit] Timing

Attack occurred at the rush hour. After the blast, the surrounding area and the vehicles have caught fire.

[edit] Injuries

The attack wounded 110 people, eight of the injured are still in a serious condition and it's being said that the death toll could increase further.^[3]

[edit] Casualties

The local police force said there are five people died at the attack. Three of them were children.^[3]

[edit] Perpetrators

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the blast but authorities have blamed militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whom Turkish security forces are battling both in Turkey and in nearby northern Iraq. The state Anatolian news agency quoted prosecutors as saying four people had been detained in connection with the blast. Earlier, security sources said 12 people had been detained.^[3]

[edit] Reaction

Turkey: "This (bombing) is an attack against our people, especially our people in the southeast, in Diyarbakir. The terrorist organisation has never been the representative of our Kurdish citizens," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said in Ankara. Erdogan also told reporters he would visit Diyarbakir on Saturday. General Yasar Buyukanit, head of Turkey's powerful military General Staff, was due to visit the city on Friday.^[3]

United States: This incident has once more showed the necessity of cooperation in fight against terrorism, Chase Beamer, spokesman for the Department's Bureau of European & Eurasian Affairs, told A.A correspondent. Beamer also said Washington is beside Ankara in its fight against terror.^[4]