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The Grand Turk |
12 missing in bomb attack in Diyarbakir |
2016-05-18 |
![]() The mainly Kurdish region of Diyarbakir was on Thursday night rocked by a massive explosion that was also felt in the city center and was later said to have been caused by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants loading explosives onto a truck. Four people, all PKK militants, were confirmed by the authorities to have been killed in the blast, which the Interior Ministry said was caused by explosives detonating prematurely. But the local governor’s office later confirmed media reports that 12 citizens were still missing after the immense blast, which left a gigantic crater in the ground. The Dogan news agency reported Monday that some 15 tons of explosives had detonated in the incident and that 13 local residents were still missing. It said the authorities had conducted three investigations of the scene, collecting body parts from a half kilometer area which were sent to Istanbul for analysis and DNA identification. An AFP correspondent who visited the scene on Friday saw body parts still strewn around the area and was told by villagers that up to 16 people were missing. In a statement, the PKK also said the explosion was accidental, claiming the vehicle exploded when anti-PKK villagers opened fire on the truck and hit its fuses. The group said the explosives were meant to be transferred to another location and not detonated. |
Posted by:badanov |