'Kurdish bomb-makers' killed in Turkey explosion

Four suspected Kurdish rebels have been killed while loading explosives in south-eastern Turkey, the interior ministry says. It says at least 10 people were injured in the blast in the Sarikamis district in Diyarbakir province.

The car bomb blast in Istanbul targeted a Turkish military facility, officials say

The rebels are believed to be members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Earlier on Thursday, a car bomb exploded near a military facility in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul, wounding at least eight people.

Five military personnel and three civilians wereinjured, one seriously, Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said.


No group has so far claimed responsibility for that attack. The Sarikamis blast was caused when "the explosives detonated prematurely" while they were being loaded onto a stolen lorry, the interior ministry said.

"The injured were civilians, according to initial findings," it added. The explosion was heard in Diyarbakir city itself, witnesses said. Turkey has been hit by a series of deadly blasts in recent months, linked either to Kurdish militants or the so-called Islamic State.

The PKK is fighting for autonomy in the majority-Kurdish areas in Turkey's south-east.