ANKARA (Sputnik) – A police bus exploded in Turkey injuring 24 people, when a bomb planted at an overpass in the southeastern Mardin Province was detonated by Kurdish militants, The Daily Sabah reports citing security sources.
There are 10 policemen among the injured, who have all been transported to local hospitals, the newspaper said on Saturday, adding that an investigation is underway.
The bomb was planted and detonated by militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) late on Friday, according to The Daily Sabah.
The PKK is an insurgent group founded in the late 1970s to establish self-determination for the Kurdish community. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara.
The upsurge in attacks came after Turkey launched a military campaign against the PKK in northern Iraq last month, following the death of two police officers in the southern Turkish city of Ceylanpinar. The PKK stated that the policemen were supporters of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, which has been active in Iraq and Syria.
Turkey shares a 511-mile southern border with Syria, where IS has seized large areas with the aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate in the region. Turkey has been supporting the efforts of the US-led anti-IS coalition that has been launching airstrikes against the militants.
On August 12, the United States launched the first manned aircraft from Turkey’s Incirlik airbase to strike IS targets under the deal reached by US President Barack Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July.
Syrian and Iraqi Kurds are carrying out ground operations to counter IS militants.
Turkey has a population of about 15-20 million Kurds.
