GAZIANTEP, Turkey (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three police officers and wounded at least nine people in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep on Sunday during a police raid on a suspected Islamic State safehouse, a local official and security sources said.

The bomber detonated explosives as police raided the house in the Besyuzevler neighborhood of the city, some 40 km (25 miles) from the Syrian border, Abdullah Nejat Kocer, a local member of parliament from the ruling AK Party, told reporters.

A second suicide bomber detonated explosives during another police raid related to the same investigation at an apartment in the city’s Gazikent suburb, but no other people were killed, a police official at the scene said. That blast blew the front wall out of the building, according to a Reuters witness.

Kocer said three police officers were killed in the Besyuzevler blast. Six of the wounded were also police, two of them left in a critical condition in hospital. The three other people wounded were Syrian nationals, Kocer told reporters.

Security sources said police had pursued a vehicle believed to be carrying explosives to the house, where a group of Syrian nationals were thought to be sheltering, before raiding it.

Turkey has seen a spate of suicide bombings by militants suspected of links to Islamic State. A suicide bomb killed more than 50 people, many of them children, at a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep in August.

Turkey launched an incursion into Syria in August in support of Syrian rebels to try to push Islamic State from its border. The rebels said on Sunday they had captured the village of Dabiq from the jihadist group, a stronghold where it had promised to fight a final, apocalyptic battle with the West.

Turkish security forces have repeatedly raided houses in Istanbul, Gaziantep and other cities in a crackdown on suspected jihadists linked to Islamic State.</s>The bomber detonated explosives as police raided the house in the Besyuzevler neighborhood of the city, some 40 km (25 miles) from the Syrian border, Abdullah Nejat Kocer, a local member of parliament from the ruling AK Party, told reporters.

He said three police officers were killed. Six of the wounded were also police, two of them in a critical condition in hospital. The three other people wounded were Syrian nationals, Kocer told reporters.

Security sources earlier told Reuters that police had pursued a vehicle believed to be carrying explosives to the house, where a group of Syrian nationals were thought to be sheltering, before raiding it.

The privately-run Dogan news agency said police were raiding a second address in the city in connection with the blast, and that there were reports of further explosions and gunfire.

Turkey has seen a spate of suicide bombings by militants suspected of links to Islamic State. A suicide bomb killed more than 50 people, many of them children, at a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep in August.

Turkey launched an incursion into Syria in August in support of Syrian rebels to try to push Islamic State from its border. The rebels said on Sunday they had captured the village of Dabiq from the jihadist group, a stronghold where it had promised to fight a final, apocalyptic battle with the West.

Turkish security forces have repeatedly raided houses in Istanbul, Gaziantep and other cities in a crackdown on suspected jihadists linked to Islamic State.</s>Ambulances and security members attend the scene, near an explosion site after suicide bombers blew themselves up on Sunday during a police raid against suspected Daesh militants near the Syrian border, in Gaziantep, Turkey (AP photo)

ISTANBUL — A suicide bomber blew himself up on Sunday during a Turkish police raid against suspected Daesh terror group members near the Syrian border, killing three police officers and wounding nine other people, an official said.

In a separate explosion, a man suspected of being responsible for a Daesh suicide bomber cell in Gaziantep blew himself about 20 kilometres away in another district of the city, provincial governor Ali Yerlikaya said in a televised statement. No one else was killed or wounded in the second blast.

Earlier, police received a tip about a group of Daesh militants hiding in a house in the city's Sahinbey district and launched an operation to apprehend them. A militant blew himself up when he realised he couldn't escape. Three police officers were killed, while five police officers and four civilians were wounded, Yerlikaya said.

News reports initially said that more than one suicide bomber was involved in the first explosion.

The governor said the police raid followed intelligence that the group could be planning an attack on an Alawi cultural association in the city. The Alawis are an offshoot of Shiite Islam and are the largest religious group in Turkey after Sunnis. Daesh regards Alawis as heretics.

Hours later, a man suspected of organising Daesh activities in Gaziantep blew himself up in an apartment as Turkish police were about to "neutralise" him, Yerlikaya said. The man was identified by the governor as Mehmet Kadir Cebael. The man's wife and two children were apprehended alive. TV footage showed the fifth floor of the building in which part of the wall was blown away.

The governor said Cebael was the "brain" behind the plan to attack the Alawi cultural association.

Turkey has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks over the past year, carried out by Daesh or Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.</s>ISTANBUL — One or more suicide bombers blew themselves up during a Turkish police raid Sunday against a suspected Islamic State militant cell in a city near Syrian border, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

At least 10 people, including civilians and police, were wounded in the explosion in Gaziantep city, the private Dogan news agency reported. Two of them were in serious condition.

Anadolu said police received a tip about a group of IS militants hiding in a house in Gaziantep's Sahinbey district and launched an operation to apprehend them. The militants blew themselves up when they understood that they could not escape, the agency reported.

The report said police launched the operation following a tip the group could be planning an attack on an Alawite cultural association in the city.

Turkey has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks over the past year, carried out by IS or Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

In August, 54 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up during an outdoor wedding celebration in Gaziantep. Authorities said the attack was the work of the IS group.</s>ISTANBUL — A suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday during a Turkish police raid against suspected Islamic State members near the Syrian border, killing three police officers and wounding nine other people, an official said.

In a separate explosion, a man suspected of being responsible for an IS suicide bomber cell in Gaziantep blew himself about 20 kilometers (12 miles) away in another district of the city, provincial governor Ali Yerlikaya said in a televised statement. No one else was killed or wounded in the second blast.

Earlier, police received a tip about a group of IS militants hiding in a house in the city's Sahinbey district and launched an operation to apprehend them. A militant blew himself up when he realized he couldn't escape. Three police officers were killed, while five police officers and four civilians were wounded, Yerlikaya said.

News reports initially said that more than one suicide bomber was involved in the first explosion.

The governor said the police raid followed intelligence that the group could be planning an attack on an Alevi cultural association in the city. The Alevis are an offshoot of Shia Islam and are the largest religious group in Turkey after Sunnis. IS regards Alevis as heretics.

Hours later, a man suspected of organizing IS activities in Gaziantep blew himself up in an apartment as Turkish police were about to "neutralize" him, Yerlikaya said. The man was identified by the governor as Mehmet Kadir Cebael. The man's wife and two children were apprehended alive. TV footage showed the fifth floor of the building in which part of the wall was blown away.

The governor said Cebael was the "brain" behind the plan to attack the Alevi cultural association.

Turkey has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks over the past year, carried out by IS or Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

In August, 54 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up during an outdoor wedding celebration in Gaziantep. Authorities said the attack was the work of the IS group.

Following the deadly attack in August, Turkish tanks entered the Syrian town of Jarablus and began its Euphrates Shield operation with Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces to clear its shared border with Syria from IS. The symbolic town of Dabiq in northern Syria was captured Sunday where IS fighters put up "minimal" resistance.

Suzan Fraser contributed to this report from Ankara.</s>ISTANBUL -- Suicide bombers blew themselves up Sunday during a Turkish police raid against suspected Islamic State militants near the Syrian border, killing three police officers and wounding eight other people, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Gaziantep governor Ali Yerlikaya, speaking to the agency, said police received a tip about a group of IS militants hiding in a house in the city's Sahinbey district and launched an operation to apprehend them. The militants blew themselves up when they realized they could not escape, the agency reported.

It was not clear how many suicide bombers were involved.

"Unfortunately, three of our police officers were martyred and eight people, including four Syrians, were wounded," he told Anadolu. The news agency said police officers were among the wounded and one person was in critical condition.

The governor said police raid followed a tip that the group could be planning an attack on an Alawite cultural association in the city, according to Anadolu.

Turkey has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks over the past year, carried out by IS or Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

In August, 54 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up during an outdoor wedding celebration in Gaziantep. Authorities said the attack was the work of the IS group.
A suicide bomber kills three police officers and wounds at least nine people in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep during a police raid on a suspected ISIL safehouse.