Blast in Turkey injures seventeen

An explosion in eastern Turkey has injured 17 people including five policemen, according to police officials.

A recent blast in Diyarbakir killed at least five children

A bomb that was planted inside a truck exploded outside a police building in the eastern city of Igdir on Saturday, police officials said.

Five policemen were injured in the blast.

Four soccer players and their coach from Ankara who were in the building were also among the wounded, the police said.
   
The state news agency Anatolian said two of the victims were in a serious condition.

Turkey has been on edge after a bomb killed 10 people in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir earlier this month, sparking protests by thousands of people. Diyarbakir is a predominantly Kurdish city.
   
Turkish authorities blame the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for such incidents in eastern Turkey.

The PKK has denied any involvement in the Diyarbakir bombing leaving speculation over who was responsible for the attack and rumours of “deep state” involvement.

Turkish intellectuals have compared the Diyarbakir bombing to the Semdinli bookshop bombings in November 2005, in which
two gendarmerie intelligence officers were sentenced to imprisonment of 39 years.

Far-left and Islamist groups have also carried out bomb attacks in Turkey in the past.
   
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an independent Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey since 1984.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies