Nine wounded in car bomb attack in eastern Turkey

TUNCELİ/ VAN – Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Nine people were wounded on June 13 in a car bomb attack in the Ovacık district of the eastern province of Tunceli, while one police officer was wounded and three outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants were killed in a clash in the İpekyolu district of the eastern province of Van.    

A bomb-laden car was detonated in front of the courthouse lodgings in Ovacık at around 1.30 p.m.

Nine civilians were wounded in the attack, Tunceli governor’s office said in a statement, adding that six were treated on foot in the Ovacık district hospital, while three were sent to Tunceli State Hospital to be treated.

Firefighters extinguished small-scale fires that broke out due to the explosion as security measures were taken nearby.

Details of the attack emerged as it was captured by a surveillance camera, which recorded that an alleged PKK militant detonated the bomb-laden car with a remote controller after he left it parked and walked away. A taxi was also spotted passing by when the car exploded. 

Police said officers protecting the lodges survived the attack thanks to armored security booths, but lodges and surrounding buildings were damaged and two police officers were wounded lightly.

Following the attack, security forces launched a wide-scale operation to capture the PKK militant who detonated the car and fled the scene. 

Meanwhile, clashes between PKK militants and Turkish security forces left one police officer wounded in the eastern province of Van on June 13. 

Three militants were killed and another was wounded in the clashes that erupted at around 3:45 p.m. in the center of the province. 

The police had attempted to stop a truck they had tracked on suspicion of carrying militants in the province’s İpekyolu district and the people in the car began opening fire on the police. The police responded and the ensuing clash lasted for nearly 15 minutes.

The police officer sustained a wound to his leg and was taken to hospital. 

The roads leading to the scene of the clash were closed by the police and the truck was examined.