Turkey: 10 suspects linked to Diyarbakir blast detained

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

Security forces detained 10 suspects on Monday in connection with a probe into Friday’s deadly blast in southeastern Diyarbakir province, a police source said Tuesday.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said security forces had carried out raids in several provinces, including Diyarbakir to capture the suspects.

On Friday, 11 people, including two police officers were martyred and 100 others were wounded when a bomb targeted a police building in the central district of Baglar in Diyarbakir during the morning rush hour. The governor’s office on Friday said the PKK had claimed responsibility for the attack; later, in a statement released Saturday, the Diyarbakir governor rejected media claims that Daesh was responsible for the attack.

Meanwhile, Diyarbakir's Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanization also completed its damage assessment work following the blast. According to the directorate, 1,709 houses and workplaces had been damaged by the bomb.

The directorate said 750,000 Turkish liras (around $237,000) would be disbursed as compensation among all the affected office owners.

Meanwhile, Baglar district's Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundation would give 500 Turkish liras (around $158) to each house owner.

The Diyarbakir attack came after the arrests of 11 lawmakers, including the two co-chairs of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Friday on terrorism charges.

The government has accused the HDP of links to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU.

The PKK group resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, PKK terrorist attacks have martyred more than 700 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while nearly 8,000 PKK terrorists were killed in army operations.

President Erdogan on Sunday said the PKK had so far killed 787 security personnel and 312 civilians as well as injuring over 4,000 security forces and more than 2,000 civilians since July 20, 2015.

Reporting by Hasan Namli and Ahmet Kaplan ; Writing by Emin Avundukluoglu