Bomb blast injures 8 in Turkey

Fri May 27, 2011

A bomb blast in the uptown Istanbul neighborhood in Turkey has wounded at least eight people, including a police officer.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack that happened on Thursday morning.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he suspects Kurdistan's Workers Party (PKK) to be responsible for the attack, Hurriyet daily reported.

The PKK is the main militant group whose insurgency began in the 1980s and has killed more than 40,000.

During an election campaign in the Central Anatolian province of Nigde, Erdogan told journalists that the explosion clearly points to the brutal face of terrorism.

He said once the investigation is completed, the details will be made public.

The blast was caused by a medium-strength bomb that was mounted on an electric bicycle near a bus stop in the Etiler neighborhood, the daily quoted Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin as saying.

Two people are seriously injured, including a 38-year-old woman who has reportedly lost her leg, he said.

The blast also damaged a public bus and a private vehicle passing by, as well as several buildings.

The bomb's target might have been the police, as the electric bicycle carrying the bomb was placed close to a nearby technical college for police.

Turkey is scheduled to hold general elections on June 12 with 50 million eligible voters voting for 15 political parties running for 550 seats in the parliament.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/181927.html.