Derik governor injured in attack in Turkey’s Mardin

An attack on a government building in southeastern Turkey has wounded several people including a district governor, according to officials and state media.

The office of the Derik district’s governor in Mardin province, near the border with Syria, was attacked with an improvised explosive device, a local government statement said on Wednesday.

Fatih Safiturk, the district governor, was wounded in the attack, officials said.

There was no immediate official information on his condition, but national Haber Turk television station said he was slightly wounded.

State-run Anadolu agency said the attack was carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The PKK, however, have not immediately claimed responsibility.

The security forces launched an operation to catch the assailants, the agency said, without providing details.

A fragile peace process between the government and the PKK broke down last year, leading to renewed violence in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast region.

At least 700 state security personnel and thousands of Kurdish fighters have been killed since then, according to Anadolu news agency.

Turkey has been rocked by a series of deadly bomb attacks in the past 18 months, carried out by the PKK or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.