Turkey PKK conflict: Cizre bomb kills 11 policemen

  • Published
Media caption,

The riot police headquarters was completely gutted

A car bomb in Cizre, south-east Turkey, has killed 11 policemen and injured 78.

The explosion targeted a checkpoint and left the nearby police HQ in ruins.

The banned Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, said it was behind the attack. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim vowed to give the "vile attackers the answer they deserve".

Cizre has often been under curfew since last July when a two-year ceasefire with the PKK collapsed, heralding a return to deadly violence.

The UN and human rights organisations have demanded an investigation into allegations that more than 100 people were burned to death while sheltering in basements in Cizre during one of those curfews.

The Turkish government has rejected allegations that it targeted civilians.

A string of PKK attacks have targeted Turkish security forces recently.

Media caption,

The UN wants to investigate allegations that Turkish forces massacred around 100 civilians in Cizre.

On Friday, the Kurdish militants denied deliberately targeting Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP), near the north-eastern city of Artvin, on Thursday.

Mr Kilicdaroglu escaped unharmed.

Turkish military operations in the south-east and retaliatory attacks by the PKK have left hundreds of people dead.

Turkey's PKK conflict shows no sign of abating, says the BBC's Mark Lowen, and the government has ruled out any negotiations until the group completely disarms.

The latest violence comes as the army reels from a huge purge following a coup attempt in July.

As well as fighting the PKK, Turkey is battling so-called Islamic State, whose militants have carried out a series of bloody attacks over the past year.

The PKK, which is banned in Turkey, launched its insurgency in 1984, alleging widespread abuse and discrimination against Kurds by Turkish authorities.