Explosion hits state offices in Turkey

The blast - in the Mardin district of Derik - was caused by a bomb, security sources said.

The Hurriyet news website reported that three people were wounded and the district governor, Fatih Safiturk, slightly hurt. Several ambulances have reportedly been sent to the scene of the blast.

News agency Ihlas reports that the explosion was caused by a rocket attack by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants. The PKK launched an insurgency in 1984 in which over 40,000 have so far been killed.

There was no immediate confirmation on the cause of the blast.

The attack follows an attack on Wednesday and last Friday's explosion near a riot police building that killed at least 11 people, including two police officers, with two others also injured in the attack.

The PKK claimed responsibility on Wednesday for a car bomb attack in Turkey's southeast. This followed a claim by the so-called Islamic State group for the attack. Three members of Turkey‘s security forces and a civilian were killed after militants opened fire on a vehicle carrying village guards - a pro-government militia - in the eastern Turkish province of Van.  The authorities blamed the attack on the PKK, broadcaster CNN Turk reported.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU, resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year and since then over 300 civilians and nearly 800 security personnel have died, while 8,000 PKK terrorists have been killed or apprehended. A ceasefire with the PKK broke down last year.

jbh/kms (AP, Reuters)