4 Turkish police killed in bombing

  • 10/08/2015
Turkey's megacity Istanbul has been rocked by twin attacks, one on a police station and the other on the US consulate (Reuters)
Turkey's megacity Istanbul has been rocked by twin attacks, one on a police station and the other on the US consulate (Reuters)

Four Turkish police officers have been killed in a roadside bomb attack blamed on Kurdish militants.

The mine explosion took place on Monday (local time) in the southeastern province of Sirnak bordering Iraq and Syria, the private Dogan news agency said.

It came after Turkey's megacity Istanbul was rocked by twin attacks, one on a police station and the other on the US consulate.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, one Turkish soldier was killed when Kurdish militants attacked a military helicopter with rocket launchers as it was transporting personnel in Sirnak's Beytussebap district, Dogan said.

The attack prompted an air operation by the Turkish military with Cobra helicopters bombing the area.

The violence between Turkey's security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party has intensified since last month following a suicide bombing in a town on the Syrian border blamed on the Islamic State.

Since then, Ankara has launched a two-pronged offensive to bomb IS militants in Syria and PKK rebels in northern Iraq and southeast Turkey – who are bitter enemies themselves.

So far, the operation has focused largely on Kurdish rebels.

AFP