PKK affiliated group carried out attacks in Istanbul, Bursa: Soylu

ANKARA

The perpetrators of the recent attacks in Turkey’s Istanbul and Bursa provinces were identified as members of subcontractor organizations of the PKK terror group, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on April 22.

“We identified the perpetrators of the incidents in Istanbul and Bursa. They are affiliated with two groups that are subcontracted by the PKK. The terrorist organization MLKP carried out the attack in Bursa, and the DKP-BOG carried out the action in Istanbul,” Soylu told private broadcaster NTV.

An explosion in the northwestern province of Bursa early on April 20 killed a prison guard and injured several others in an incident that officials described as a terror attack.

A remote-controlled handmade explosive detonated in the Osmangazi district in Bursa, as the bus was transporting the guards to a prison in the region. The explosion occurred around 8 a.m.

“Our evaluation is that a handmade bomb, which was left beneath an electricity pole, was detonated by remote control as the prison vehicle was passing by,’’ Bursa Governor Yakup Canbolat told reporters after inspecting the scene.

Canbolat said there were around 30 people on the bus. All of them were taken to hospitals as a precaution, he said. Cengiz Yiğit, a 36-years-old prison guard, lost his life in the attack. One of the guards wounded was in critical condition.

On Thursday, another explosion targeted the Turkey Youth Foundation (TÜGVA) office in the Gaziosmanpaşa district in Istanbul. No casualties were reported after the attack.