Two people, including one child, killed in car bomb attack in Turkey's southeast

ŞANIURFA

Two people, including an 11-year-old child, have been killed and 15 others were wounded in a car bomb attack on lodgings housing judiciary personnel in Turkey's southeastern province of Şanlıurfa late on Feb. 17. 

The 11-year-old child, Ahmet Oktay Günak, was out to feed a cat he was taking care of outside of their house located in the Viranşehir district of Şanlıurfa, his father Mustafa Günak said. 

One of the guards of the neighborhood, İbrahim Kete, was also killed in the attack. He was found dead under the rubble after the explosion. 

The attack took place at around 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 17, with such a loud sound that some people faced temporary hearing losses. 

Şanlıurfa Governor Güngör Azim Tuna said that one ton of explosives were planted inside a car that was parked outside the lodgings and that it was exploded with a remote control. 

The governor said the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was responsible for the attack, while 26 people were taken into custody after the attack.

Turkey's Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Faruk Çelik and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ went to the district to inspect the site of the attack and visit the wounded people. 

"The vehicle had been detonated just as a security guard who saw it being parked was about to intervene with a gun, killing him," Soylu told reporters in Viranşehir on Feb. 18, adding that the blast caused damage to 14 buildings nearby.

Eleven people were still being treated in hospital, Soylu said, including two in intensive care.
"As of last night a total of 26 people had been detained and our security forces are conducting the necessary work," he added. 

A previous statement from the Şanlıurfa provincial governor's office said the owner of the vehicle used in the attack was among those being held.