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Turkey explosion: Gaziantep police station hit by suspected Isis car bomb attack killing at least two people

Another 22 people have been wounded in the attack in the city on the Turkish-Syrian border

Caroline Mortimer
Sunday 01 May 2016 12:09 EDT
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Ambulances at the scene at Gaziantep police station in southern Turkey
Ambulances at the scene at Gaziantep police station in southern Turkey (Reuters)

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At least two people has been killed and another 22 have been wounded in a car bomb attack outside the main police station in Gaziantep on the southern Turkish-Syrian border, according to the provincial governor.

The blast hit the station at around 9:30am local time (6:30am UK time) on Sunday.

The governor of Gaziantep province, Ali Yerlikaya, said the explosion wounded at least nine police officers, CNN Turk reports.

Police officers at the scene of the explosion - at least one person has been killed and another 13 injured
Police officers at the scene of the explosion - at least one person has been killed and another 13 injured (Reuters)

Footage released by the broadcaster shows pieces of a wrecked car outside the station gates near several other provincial government buildings.

Windows in nearby buildings were shattered in the blast which could be heard across the city.

Several ambulances and fire brigade trucks were at the scene.

According to a security source, the bombing is believed to have been carried out by an Isis militant and his father has been detained in a police raid.

Unconfirmed reports say gunfire was heard after the explosions and a second car fled the scene.

There has been no claim of responsibility so far.

May Day celebrations in the city were cancelled in response to the explosion.

Turkey has been rocketed by increasing violence by both Islamist and separatist militants.

In the past year, more than 200 people across the country have been killed in seven suicide attacks including an attack this week in the city of Busra, northwest Turkey, which killed the bomber and wounded 13 people.

In 2016, there have been at least two deadly suicide attacks in Istanbul by Isis and two more bombings by the separatist PKK against the capital Ankara.

People inspecting the remains of the bombed out car outside Gaziantep police station
People inspecting the remains of the bombed out car outside Gaziantep police station (Reuters)

Turkey has also suffered attacks from far-left groups, mostly on its police and security forces.

In a separate incident on Sunday in the neighbouring province of Kilis two rocket projectiles fired across the Syrian border hit a car park and a house garden, wounding four.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said the Turkish military retaliated by firing back at Isis targets and killed nine militants. It has not been possible to verify the agency's claim.

Additional reporting by agencies

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