Europe

Report: 2 Turkish officers killed defusing roadside bomb

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Security officers and medics work at the explosion site after a car bomb struck a bus in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Tuesday, May 10, 2016. Turkey's state-run news agency says a car bomb attack targeting a bus carrying police officers in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir has killed at least three people. Anadolu Agency says at least 22 other people were wounded in the attack in Diyarbakir's Baglar neighborhood. The agency says the attack was carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.(AP Photo/Mahmut Bozarslan) (The Associated Press)

ALTERNATIVE CROP OF ANK102 - A security officer works at the explosion site after a car bomb struck a bus carrying Turkish police officers in the mainly-Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, Tuesday, May 10, 2016, wounding at least 12 people, the state-run news agency reported. The Anadolu Agency said the attack in Diyarbakir's troubled Baglar neighborhood was carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, as the bus was passing by. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

Security officers secure the area after a car bomb struck a bus in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Tuesday, May 10, 2016. Turkey's state-run news agency says a car bomb attack targeting a bus carrying police officers in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir has killed a number of people. Anadolu Agency says many other people were wounded in the attack in Diyarbakir's Baglar neighborhood. The agency says the attack was carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.(AP Photo/Mahmut Bozarslan) (The Associated Press)

Turkey's state-run agency says two police officers were killed while attempting to defuse a roadside bomb.

The Anadolu Agency blamed the deaths on the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, for Tuesday's incident. Ankara and its allies consider the PKK a terrorist organization, and the agency said air-backed operations were underway to hunt down Kurdish rebels in the eastern province of Van.

The PKK, which wants greater autonomy for Turkey's Kurds, has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state in a conflict that has claimed 40,000 lives.

After a 2 1/2-year lull while peace talks were underway, the conflict re-ignited last summer.

PKK-linked rebels have staged multiple bomb attacks against Turkish police and troops, which in turn have carried out tank-backed security operations in flashpoint areas.