2 killed in car bombing in Turkish city; 2 attackers dead
IZMIR, Turkey — Suspected Kurdish militants on Thursday opened fire at police who stopped them at a checkpoint in the western city of Izmir before detonating their explosives-laden vehicle, the province’s governor said. A policeman and a courthouse employee were killed in the attack while two assailants were shot dead.
Gov. Erol Ayyildiz said preliminary indications pointed to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has carried out a string of attacks in the past year and a half, mainly targeting Turkey’s security forces. Islamic State militants have also carried several deadly attacks in the country.
“The information so far suggests it is the PKK. Such a conclusion was reached after we assessed the attack and ID’d the people,” Ayyildiz said.
The governor did not refer to earlier reports that a third attacker was on the run.