A car bomb targeting soldiers killed five people and wounded 68 others -- including 30 soldiers -- Thursday in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, officials said. A bus transporting troops was passing by a five-star hotel when suspected Kurdish rebels detonated a remote-controlled car bomb, authorities said. Two high school students who emerged from a building where they were taking preparatory courses for university exams and three other civilians were killed. "A bomb left in a car ... was set off with a remote control. It was a very strong one. It was targeting a military service bus," Gov. Huseyin Avni Mutlu said. Mutlu said 30 soldiers were among the injured, private Dogan news agency reported.Several people could be seen lying unconscious amid burning cars, and a bus was engulfed in flames, reports said. Six cars were damaged in the explosion. Some students also were injured by flying glass.
Authorities blamed the blast on Kurdish rebels. Police said two suspects reportedly escaped the scene. Authorities denied earlier news reports that the suspects were captured. The attack -- which shattered the windows of surrounding buildings and could be heard two miles away -- appeared to be retaliation for three airstrikes by Turkish warplanes against Kurdish rebel shelters in northern Iraq last month.
There have been two explosions in Turkey's commercial center, Istanbul, over the past two weeks, killing one and injuring nine. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler blamed Kurdish rebels.