ANKARA (Sputnik) — At least one serviceman has been killed and 23 people have been injured by a blast near the gendarmerie in southeastern Turkey, the country's General Staff said Monday.
According to the General Staff, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is outlawed in Ankara, staged an explosion in the Dicle district of the Diyarbakir province on late Sunday.
"The members of the separatist terrorist organization [PKK]… on May 1 detonated a car bomb near the district gendarmerie and the military residence building in Dicle, Diyarbakir province. As a result, one of our soldiers was killed and 20 were wounded, as well as three members of servicemen's families, " the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.
Severe clashes between the Turkish Armed Forces and the PKK have been arising sporadically in Turkey since July. In November, Ankara launched an anti-PKK campaign in Diyarbakir. A curfew entered into force the following month amid growing violence between the militants and the Turkish military.
In March, Ankara declared an end to its large-scale operation, as a result of which some 300 PKK militants were killed, according to the Turkish General Staff.
According to reports by Ankara, the PKK regularly conducts terrorist attacks against Turkish police and law enforcement.