A suicide bomb squad killed a policeman and wounded more than a dozen people in central Turkey on Friday after driving into a police station and opening fire, Turkish officials said.
Two men sped into the station in the city of Kayseri where they fired their weapons before one of the attackers set off a bomb, Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said in televised remarks.
The death toll was earlier put at two policemen by Sahin, who later said one of the officers was revived by doctors.
According to the latest official information, one officer was killed instantly and another was in a critical condition, while more than a dozen people, including several children, were being treated for less severe injuries.
The two assailants were also killed, officials said. Sahin said the attackers appeared to have carried out the bombing in a panic after fleeing a traffic stop earlier in the day at the Kayseri city entrance and arriving at the police building as a result of the ensuing chase.
Turkish media, quoting witnesses, reported earlier that three attackers were involved, but preliminary findings pointed to two attackers in the car, which was now shredded beyond recognition, the minister added.
“Terror is raging with its activities just as always,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in televised remarks, as he held the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) responsible for the assault.
A parliamentary sub-committee on counter-terrorism also called for an emergency session a few hours after the incident.
The attack followed a recent increase in activity by the rebel group, which on Tuesday kidnapped 10 villagers from Bayirli village in the southeast. The motive was unknown.
Investigations had been launched into both incidents, officials said.
Friday’s attack marked a rare suicide bombing in Turkey, which frequently sees roadside explosions and bomb attacks carried out by the PKK.
