Car bomb hits eastern Turkish city of Van, 19 injured

ISTANBUL: A car bomb rocked the eastern Turkish city of Van on Monday, leaving 19 people including two police officers wounded, a ruling party lawmaker said.
The attack took place in the heart of the bustling city, between the ruling AKP's offices and those of the governor, said Besir Atalay, an AKP lawmaker from Van.
"It's a crowded street, the centre of the boulevard. We have 19 injured — including two police officers, and one of the injured is in a critical condition," Atalay told the private NTV television.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast that took place on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha.
Atalay pointed the finger of blame at the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that is listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.
"The terrorist organisation has targeted our party building and the AKP's presence in the past. This is one of them," he added.
Witnesses said the force of the blast shattered the windows in the surrounding vicinity. Several ambulances rushed to the scene.
Television images showed water cannon being used to put out a fire caused by the explosion.
City with mixed population
Van, a city with a mixed Kurdish and Turkish population on the shores of the lake of the same name, has generally been spared the worst of attacks like those seen in the nearby city of Diyarbakir.
The city is a popular tourist destination, particularly with Iranians who arrive from across the border in huge numbers to enjoy shopping and the relaxed atmosphere.
The blast came a day after the government announced the removal of 28 mayors, mainly over alleged links to the PKK in a move strongly denounced by pro-Kurdish parties.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended the suspension of 28 mayors, saying it was a long-overdue.
"You, as mayors and municipal councils, cannot stand up and support terrorist organisations," he told reporters after prayers outside an Istanbul mosque, shortly before the attack.
"You do not have such an authority."
The government has stepped up its military campaign in the restive southeast to eradicate PKK militants, who have launched almost daily attacks since the rupture of a fragile ceasefire last year.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the PKK first took up arms in 1984, with the aim of carving out an independent state for Turkey's Kurdish minority.
Turkey has also launched an operation inside Syria to remove Islamic State (IS) group militants as well as Syrian Kurdish militia from its frontier. — AFP