MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to Vatan newspaper, the explosion, which occurred in the town of Kulp, was caused by a car bomb. After the explosion, a large-scale operation was launched to boost safety in the area, and police and ambulance vehicles were sent to the scene.
Turkish Gendarmerie General Command is a special branch of military forces charged with public order outside of the jurisdiction of police, usually in rural areas.
No organization has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the newspaper, the Turkish authorities presumed that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was behind the attack, as local police had previously clashed with the militants.
The anti-PKK campaign in Diyarbakir started in November 2015. A curfew entered into force the following month amid growing violence between the militants and the Turkish servicemen. In March, Ankara declared an end to its large-scale operation in the city and its suburbs, as a result of which some 300 PKK militants were killed, according to the Turkish General Staff.
