Eleven in custody over bomb attack on police in Turkey’s Mersin: Minister

MERSİN

A total of 11 suspects are currently under detention in connection to a bomb attack that targeted a police shuttle bus in the southern province of Mersin on Oct. 17, Development Minister Lütfi Elvan has said.

“Eleven people are in custody right now. The investigation process regarding the incident is ongoing. According to current findings, it seems that the [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party] PKK terror organization is behind the attack,” Elvan told reporters on Oct. 19.

He added that six people are currently still receiving treatment at hospital, with three more set to be discharged later on Oct. 19.

Eighteen people were injured on Oct. 17 when a motorcycle parked near Mersin’s Okan Merzeci Boulevard was remotely detonated during the passing of the police shuttle at around 5.20 p.m. The health conditions of those wounded is not reported to be critical.

The Mersin Governor’s Office initially put the number of wounded at 12 but Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ later stated that 18 people, 17 of whom were police officers, were wounded in the blast.

Bozdağ also said initial findings indicated that it was a “terror attack.”

The PKK has targeted police in similar attacks in the past, while left-wing militants and members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have also carried out deadly attacks in the country in recent years.