Deadly Blast in Diyarbakir Kills 5, Wounds 67

The explosion of a car in Diyarbakir Thursday evening causes the lives of 5, including school children. 67 people reported wounded, 3 of whom seriously.

Emine Özcan

Deadly Blast in Diyarbakir Kills 5, Wounds 67

At around 5.30 pm on Thursday (3 January), there was an explosion in the Yenisehir neighbourhood of Diyarbakir as a mliitary car was passing by. Initially, four people were said to have died, but another person died later. They were all civilians, two of them pupils.

Five dead, dozens injured

The dead have been identified as Cengiz Kaya, Eren Sahin, Melek Ipek, Ridvan Süer and Ferhat Mutlu.

The local sources in Diyarbakir told bianet that, number of wounded could be higher than the official figures. Around 82 people are reported to be wounded according to reports leaking from local hospitals. This figure is yet uncofirmed.

Ahmet Birsin of Diyarbakir's local Gün TV said that among the wounded 12 were soldiers and had been taken to military hospital. The other wounded were taken to public and private hospitals. The fire which broke out after the explosion was contained by fire fighters. The explosion took place around 150 metres away from the Gün TV building. Windows on the ground floor broke, and electricity was cut off, said Birsin.

At around 7.40 pm Thursday, the site of the explosion was still crowded, and the crime scene investigation team was already examining the site, as Birsin was interviewed on the phone.

In a press statement made after an examination of the site, Diyarbakir's governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu said that six vehicles were severely damaged in the explosion.

According to the Firat News Agency, twelve people have been arrested in relation to the explosion. However, bianet's local sources were not able to confirm these arrests.

"We will not waver"

Prime Minister Erdogan, in a public statement prior to his official meeting with Mehmet Ali Talat, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, said: "Terrorism has shown its bloody face in Diyarbakir again."

He added, "These kind of events will never make us waver. We will continue our struggle against terrorism, be it on a national or international level, with the same determination. Our determination on this issue is complete and continuous."

Hasip Kaplan, MP for the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), said: "The Honourable Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should immediately call the leaders of the parties in parliament for a meeting concerning the event in Diyarbakir. It is time that the whole country, East, West, South, North, hold hands."

Two explosions last year

In 2006, two bomb attacks took place in Diyarbakir. On 15 June, seven people were wounded in an explosion which was thought to be a bomb made from a pipe. On 12 September, an explosion in the Baglar area killed 10 people, seven of them children. 16 people were wounded. (EZÖ/TK/AG)