Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb Sunday outside a military checkpoint in southeast Turkey, killing nine soldiers and eight civilians, the local governor said.

Cuneyit Orhan Toprak, governor of Hakkari province where the attack took place, gave the death toll to the private news channel NTV and said 27 other people were wounded in the attack and were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. Eleven of the wounded were soldiers, the Turkish military said.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, said the attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. outside a Gendarmerie checkpoint on the Semdinli-Yuksekova highway and was the work of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. The checkpoint is 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the center of the town of Semdinli.

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Mr Toprak said the attackers first opened fire on the soldiers at the checkpoint to distract them, before driving up a minivan containing about 5 tons of explosives and detonating it.

The explosion produced a crater 15 metres (50 feet) wide and seven metres (23 feet) deep. An infantry station located behind the checkpoint also suffered heavy damage.

Turkish authorities imposed a temporary blackout on coverage of the attack, citing public order and national security reasons.

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak condemned the attack during a speech in Istanbul, calling on all countries to stand together against terrorism.

Shape Created with Sketch. World news in pictures Show all 50 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. World news in pictures 1/50 9 September 2019 A firefighter assesses the fire spreading across land on Long Gully Road in the town of Drake, Australia. A number of homes have been destroyed by bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland. EPA 2/50 8 September 2019 Damaged homes after hurricane Dorian devastated Elbow Key Island in Hope Town, Bahamas. The hurricane hit the island chain as a category 5 storm and battered them for two days before moving north. Getty 3/50 7 September 2019 An artist performs on Tverskaya street during celebrations marking the 872nd anniversary of the city of Moscow. AFP/Getty 4/50 6 September 2019 Children play football next to a defaced portrait of Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in Harare on the day he died, aged 95. 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The volcano expert said: "The strong lightning which shows in the image is a very rare exception, as it was much stronger than usual." Martin Reitze/SWNS 29/50 12 August 2019 People swim in a public bath pool in Zalakaros, Hungary. Some regions of the country have been issued the highest grade of warning by the National Meteorological Service as the temperatures may reach 33-38 centigrade. EPA 30/50 11 August 2019 A pro-democracy protester is held by police outside Tsim Sha Tsui Police station during a demonstration against the controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong. AFP/Getty 31/50 10 August 2019 Muslim pilgrims make their way down on a rocky hill known as Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. AP 32/50 9 August 2019 Waves hit a sea wall in front of buildings in Taizhou, China's eastern Zhejiang province. 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Reuters 35/50 6 August 2019 Paleontologist Naturalis Anne Schulp takes part in the construction of the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex called Trix in Naturalis in Leiden, The Netherlands. After a month-long tour of Europe, Trix is home in time for the opening of the new museum. AFP/Getty 36/50 5 August 2019 Flowers paying tribute to the eight-year-old boy who died after he was pushed under a train at Frankfurt am Main's station. The horrific crime happened last week and has led politicians to call for heightened security. AFP/Getty 37/50 4 August 2019 Mourners take part in a vigil near the border fence between Mexico and the US after a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso killed 20 people. The suspected gunman behind shooting is believed to be a 21-year-old white man called Patrick Crusius. Reuters 38/50 3 August 2019 Pramac Racing's rider Jack Miller in action during a practice session at the Motorcycling Grand Prix of the Czech Republic. The race will take place on 4 August. EPA 39/50 2 August 2019 An extremely rare Pink Meanie jellyfish on display at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. The Pink Meanie was discovered during a nightlight jellyfish dive by the collections team in the waters around Robben Island and in Cape Town Harbour. Pink Meanies are jellyvorous, meaning they feed on other jelly species by reeling them in with their long tentacles. Discovering the Pink Meanie in its early ephyra stage meant the team could study its growth rate which turned out to be very quick as it grew to the metaephyra stage in about a week and a half. The Mexican pink meanie (Drymonema larsoni) was only discovered in the year 2000. A Mediterranean relative, known as the Big Pink Jellyfish (Drymonema dalmatinum) has been known to science since the 1800s but when spotted in 2014 it had been almost 70 years since the last sighting. These jellies are incredibly rare and this new South African species is no exception. EPA 40/50 1 August 2019 Palestinian men breathe fire on the beach as entertainment for children during the summer vacation in Gaza City. AFP/Getty 41/50 31 July 2019 A woman rows a boat through the lotus plants on the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. The lake is a popular tourist destination because of its floating gardens and lotus flowers. EPA 42/50 30 July 2019 An effigy of demon Ghantakarna is burnt to symbolize the destruction of evil and belief to drive evil spirits and ghost, during the Ghantakarna festival at the ancient city of Bhaktapur, Nepal. Reuters 43/50 29 July 2019 Hundreds of hot air balloons take part in the Great Line at the Mondial Air Ballons festival, in an attempt to break the 2017 record of 456 balloons aligning in an hour during the biggest meeting in the world, in Chambley, France. Reuters 44/50 28 July 2019 Anti-extradition bill protesters with umbrellas attend a rally against the police brutality in Hong Kong. EPA 45/50 27 July 2019 A general view of stalls closed following yesterday's volcanic eruption at the tourism area of Mount Tangkuban Parahu in the north of Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia. Reuters 46/50 26 July 2019 Protesters rally against a controversial extradition bill in the arrivals hall at the international airport in Hong Kong. AFP/Getty 47/50 25 July 2019 The pack rides in a valley during the eighteenth stage of the 106th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Embrun and Valloire. AFP/Getty 48/50 24 July 2019 Former special counsel Robert Mueller is sworn in to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the investigation into Russian Interference of the 2016 Presidential Election. Reuters 49/50 23 July 2019 People cool down at the fountains of Trocadero during a heatwave in Paris. EPA 50/50 22 July 2019 Activists burn an effigy of President Rodrigo Duterte, depicted as a sea monster, during a protest near congress. This is to coincide with his state of the nation address in Manila. AFP/Getty

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or Isis.

Fighting between the PKK and the state security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a fragile two-year ceasefire. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed in clashes, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the fighting.

On Thursday, 10 people were slightly wounded by a bomb mounted on a motorcycle that exploded near a police station in Istanbul. On Friday, the militant Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK, considered an offshoot of the PKK, claimed responsibility. Six people have been detained in connection with that attack.

AP</s>Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or the Islamic State group

Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb on Sunday outside a military station in southeast Turkey, killing eight soldiers and wounding five others, Turkey’s state-run news agency said. Turkey launched a military operation in response to the attack.

The Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, said the attack outside a Gendarmerie station on the Semdinli-Yuksekova highway was the work of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or the Islamic State group.

Fighting between the PKK and the state security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a fragile 2 -year cease-fire. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed in clashes, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the fighting.

On Thursday, 10 people were slightly wounded by a bomb mounted on a motorcycle that exploded near a police station in Istanbul. On Friday, the militant Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK, considered an offshoot of the PKK, claimed responsibility. Six people have been detained in connection with that attack.</s>ISTANBUL -- Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb Sunday outside a military checkpoint in southeast Turkey, killing nine soldiers and eight civilians, the local governor said.

Cuneyit Orhan Toprak, governor of Hakkari province where the attack took place, gave the death toll to the private news channel NTV and said 27 other people were wounded in the attack and were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Eleven of the wounded were soldiers, the Turkish military said.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, said the attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. outside a Gendarmerie checkpoint on the Semdinli-Yuksekova highway and was the work of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. The checkpoint is 12 miles from the center of the town of Semdinli.

Toprak said the attackers first opened fire on the soldiers at the checkpoint to distract them, before driving up a minivan containing about 5 tons of explosives and detonating it.

The Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, said the attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. outside a Gendarmerie checkpoint on the Semdinli-Yuksekova highway and was the work of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The explosion produced a crater 50 feet wide and 23 feet deep. An infantry station located behind the checkpoint also suffered heavy damage.

Turkish authorities imposed a temporary blackout on coverage of the attack, citing public order and national security reasons.

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak condemned the attack during a speech in Istanbul, calling on all countries to stand together against terrorism.

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or the Islamic State group.

Fighting between the PKK and the state security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a fragile 2-year cease-fire. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed in clashes, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the fighting.

On Thursday, 10 people were slightly wounded by a bomb mounted on a motorcycle that exploded near a police station in Istanbul. On Friday, the militant Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK, considered an offshoot of the PKK, claimed responsibility.

Six people have been detained in connection with that attack.</s>ISTANBUL — Turkey’s state-run news agency says eight soldiers have been killed and five wounded after Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb outside a military station in the southeastern town of Semdinli.

Citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, the Anadolu Agency says the attack Sunday outside the Gendarmerie station was the work of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or the Islamic State group.

Fighting between the PKK and the state security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a fragile 2 ½-year cease-fire. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to Anadolu.</s>ISTANBUL -- Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb Sunday outside a military checkpoint in southeast Turkey, killing nine soldiers and wounding eleven others, Turkey's state-run news agency said. Turkey launched a military operation in response to the attack.

The Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, said the attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. outside a Gendarmerie checkpoint on the Semdinli-Yuksekova highway and was the work of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The explosion produced a crater 50 feet wide and 23 feet deep. An infantry station located behind the checkpoint also suffered heavy damage.

Turkish authorities imposed a temporary blackout on coverage of the attack, citing public order and national security reasons.

 Energy Minister Berat Albayrak condemned the attack during a speech in Istanbul, calling on all countries to stand together against terrorism.

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or the Islamic State group.

Fighting between the PKK and the state security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a fragile 2-year cease-fire. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed in clashes, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the fighting.

On Thursday, 10 people were slightly wounded by a bomb mounted on a motorcycle that exploded near a police station in Istanbul. On Friday, the militant Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK, considered an offshoot of the PKK, claimed responsibility.

Six people have been detained in connection with that attack.</s>The blast hit the Durak gendarmerie station, 20 km (12 miles) from the town of Semdinli, in a mountainous part of Hakkari province near the border with Iraq and Iran, where Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants are active.

Soldiers looked on as locals wandered amid mangled wreckage and debris from the explosion at a checkpoint where vehicle searches are conducted, video footage on CNN Turk showed.

Authorities were on high alert for possible attacks on Sunday, 18 years to the day since PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan fled Syria before being captured by Turkish special forces in February the following year.

He has since been in prison on an island near Istanbul.

On Saturday, a man and a woman who authorities suspect were PKK militants preparing a car bomb attack, detonated explosives and killed themselves near the capital Ankara in a stand-off with police.

Violence has flared in Turkey's southeastern Kurdish heartland in recent days.

On Saturday, 12 people were killed, including eight PKK fighters. Four civilians were killed by gunfire from an armored police vehicle in the town of Yuksekova near the Iranian border.

On Thursday, a bomb attack near a police station in Istanbul wounded 10 people. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a PKK offshoot, claimed responsibility for that blast.

The PKK, which launched a separatist insurgency in 1984, is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

A two-year ceasefire between the group and Turkish authorities collapsed in July last year and the violence subsequently rose to levels not seen since the height of the conflict in the 1990s.

The surge in violence coincides with a Turkish military operation in northern Syria in support of rebels and designed to drive away from the border Islamic State militants and a Syrian Kurdish militia closely linked to the PKK.

President Tayyip Erdogan chaired a security summit with the head of the armed forces and ministers in Istanbul on Saturday, but details of the meeting have not been disclosed.</s>Soldiers, security members and people work at the scene of a car bomb attack in Semdinli, near the border with Iraq, Turkey, on Sunday (AP photo)

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Ten Turkish soldiers and eight civilians were killed on Sunday when suspected Kurdish militants detonated a 5-tonne truck bomb that ripped through a checkpoint near a military outpost in the country’s southeast, the prime minister said.

Another 27 people, including 11 soldiers, were wounded in the blast which hit the Durak gendarmerie station, 20 km from the town of Semdinli, in one of the most deadly attacks in the region of recent times.

The mountainous Hakkari province, where the attack occurred, lies near the border with Iraq and Iran and is one of the main flashpoint areas in a conflict that has pitted Turkey’s army against the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for 32 years.

The attack occurred around 9:45 am when a small truck approached the vehicle checkpoint and ignored an order to stop, prompting gendarmerie troops to open fire, the Hakkari governor’s office said.

A bomb in the vehicle was detonated, which Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters contained some 5 tonnes of explosives.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to put an end to PKK attacks as he condemned the bombing, accusing the group of acting on behalf of “dark forces that had designs in Syria and Iraq”.

“Hand in hand with our people, our state with all its institutions is determined to make the separatist terror organisation incapable of carrying out attacks,” his written statement said.

The army has “neutralised” 387 PKK fighters in Hakkari alone since August 4, state-run Anadolu Agency cited military sources as saying.

The governor’s office said extensive air-backed operations were being conducted by commando units in the area to capture PKK militants, who were believed to have opened fire in the run-up to the attack to distract soldiers at the checkpoint.

Military helicopters flew the wounded to hospitals in the region following the blast, the governor’s office said, as soldiers looked on and locals wandered amid mangled wreckage and debris, video footage on CNN Turk showed.

Authorities were on high alert for possible attacks on Sunday, 18 years to the day since PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan fled Syria before being captured by Turkish special forces in February the following year.

He has since been in prison on an island near Istanbul.

Erdogan often criticises what he sees as inadequate Western support in the fight against the PKK, and Energy Minister Berat Albayrak called on Sunday on its allies to show solidarity.

“This fire of terror continues to burn our country, the whole region and world each day that passes. We have to show more sincerity than ever in this process,” Albayrak said in a speech at an energy conference in Istanbul.

Violence has flared in the mainly Kurdish southeast and elsewhere in Turkey in recent days.

On Saturday, a man and a woman who authorities suspect were PKK militants preparing a car bomb attack detonated explosives and killed themselves near the capital Ankara in a stand-off with police.

In the southeast, 12 people were killed on Saturday, including eight PKK fighters. Four civilians were killed by gunfire from an armoured police vehicle in the town of Yuksekova near the Iranian border.

On Thursday, a bomb attack near a police station in Istanbul wounded 10 people. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks, a PKK offshoot, claimed responsibility for that blast.

The PKK, which launched its separatist insurgency in 1984, is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

A two-year ceasefire between the group and Turkish authorities collapsed in July last year and the violence subsequently rose to levels not seen since the height of the conflict in the 1990s.

The surge in violence coincides with a Turkish military operation in northern Syria in support of rebels, and designed to drive away from the border Daesh terror group militants and a Syrian Kurdish militia closely linked to the PKK.

President Erdogan chaired a security summit with the head of the armed forces and ministers in Istanbul on Saturday, but details of the meeting have not been disclosed.</s>The sources said the blast hit the Durak gendarmerie station, 20 km (12 miles) from the town of Semdinli, in a mountainous part of Hakkari province near the border with Iraq and Iran, where Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants are active.

The privately-owned Dogan news agency said the explosion occurred during vehicle searches on the road in front of the police station.

The PKK, which launched a separatist insurgency in 1984, is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

A two-year ceasefire between the group and Turkish authorities collapsed in July last year and the violence subsequently flared to levels not seen since the height of the conflict in the 1990s.</s>The bomb exploded at a police station in Hakkari, a town 77 kilometers (48 miles) from the Iraqi border, the Turkish army said in a statement.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Turkish army said the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) played a role in the bombing.

"[T]his morning at 9:45, separatist terrorist organization members organized the attack," the army said.

The Turkish army has launched an operation to find those behind the attack.

The PKK, one of Turkey's main enemies, says it represents the largest ethic group, the Kurds, who make up an estimated 20% of the nation's population. A peace process crumbled last year, leading to Turkish security forces imposing controversial curfews on predominantly Kurdish cities, contributing to a spike in tensions.</s>ANKARA: Eighteen people were killed Sunday when a van packed with five tons of explosives blew up in Turkey’s restive southeast in an attack blamed on Kurdish militants.

“The attack was perpetrated by a suicide bomber who detonated a van (packed) with five tons of explosives,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told a news conference in Istanbul.

The bombing, which killed 10 soldiers and eight civilians, was one of the deadliest attacks on Turkish security forces since the attempted coup of July 15 when a rogue military faction tried to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The attack targeted a security post in Hakkari province as security forces were searching vehicles in Semdinli district, the official news agency Anadolu said.

In a statement, the Hakkari governor said a vehicle refused to stop as it approached a checkpoint, resulting in soldiers responding with gunfire. Militants then also started shooting, the governor’s office said, quoted by Dogan news agency.

Twenty-seven others were injured in the blast caused by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Erdogan said in a written statement. Anadolu reported at least 16 of those were civilians.

Soon after the attack, which Anadolu said left a seven-meter (22-foot) deep hole in the road, the military confirmed it had begun a large-scale air operation which the governor’s office said was launched to “neutralize” PKK militants.

The governor said commando units on the ground were continuing to search for PKK fighters.

The White House said it condemned “in the strongest terms the deadly terrorist attack today against a military checkpoint in southeastern Turkey that left many dead, including civilians, and scores more wounded.”

“We remain steadfast in our support for our NATO ally, Turkey, and reaffirm our commitment to continue working together to defeat all forms of terrorism,” Ned Price, the White House National Security Council spokesman said.

Over the past two months, the military says it has killed a total of 387 PKK militants in Hakkari province, CNN-Turk reported.

The PKK, a group that is proscribed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged a 32-year insurgency against the Turkish state, which has left nearly 40,000 dead since 1984.
A suspected PKK car bomb kills at least 17 people, and injures 27 others in Turkey's southeast Hakkâri Province.