Bomb martyrs 3 police in eastern Turkey

ELAZIG, Turkey

Three police officers were martyred in a PKK car-bomb attack on a police station Thursday in eastern Turkey's province of Elazig.

Speaking to reporters, Elazig Governor Murat Zorluoglu said at least 146 people, including civilians, had been injured.

According to Turkey’s Health Ministry, some of the injured are in critical condition.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council has banned all broadcasts about the deadly attack in the interest of public safety and an ongoing police investigation.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, Turkey’s top military officer Hulusi Akar, Defense Minister Fikri Isik, Interior Minister Efkan Ala and Health Minister Recep Akdag, have travelled to the scene.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Yildirim and Akar for an update on the attack.

The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has also sent a delegation to the province.

Condemning the attack, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said during an interview that governmental and non-governmental organizations should cooperate to end terror in the country.

"We will always maintain solidarity against terror," he added.

Van, Hakkari attacks

The blast came hours after two other terrorist attacks hit the eastern city of Van and Hakkari, a province in southeastern Turkey.

Three people, including a police officer, died in the Van attack, which also injured over 70 people.

Van Governor Ibrahim Tasyapan said PKK terrorists detonated a car bomb near a police station in the city's Ipekyolu district shortly after 11 p.m. [2000 GMT] local time, Wednesday.

Tasyapan said a suspect was caught during an operation launched after the attack and confirmed that many buildings in the area had been damaged.

In Hakkari, two police officers were hurt in an attack by the PKK, a security source added.

The source told Anadolu Agency the officers were wounded when PKK terrorists opened fire on police headquarters in the province’s Semdinli district.

The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists have been killed.

(Reporting by Anadolu Agency staff; Writing by Burcu Arik)