3 killed, 45 injured as car bomb hits police vehicle in Diyarbakır

At least three people were killed and 45 others were injured when a car bomb struck a police vehicle in Diyarbakır province, Southeast, according to the governor's office.

Tuesday's explosion took place at around 04:30 p.m. near a secondary school in the town of Bağlar. It severely damaged several cars and buildings in the vicinity.

The armoured police vehicle was carrying seven terror suspects to hospital for health check when it was hit by the car bomb, reports said. Officials said members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) had been detained on charges of seizing a nearby factory.

The victims were PKK terrorists in the police vehicle, the reports said.

A plenty number of ambulances and police cars rushed to the scene. Of those injured, 23 were civilians and 12 police officers.

The injured were taken to hospitals by emergency crews after the blast. Three of them later died at hospital despite efforts by medics. The injured include a baby and his mother, officials said.

Security forces launched operation to seize terrorists who were involved in the attack. An investigation has been launched into the incident.

Plumes of yellow smoke were seen rising over Diyarbakır just after the blast. Officials suggest terrorists have used ammonium nitrate to carry out the attack.

This is the second terror attack which specifically targetted security forces 40 days after the bomb attack which left seven officers dead. Seven officers were killed and 13 others wounded in the most recent attack, which targetted a police bus near the central bus terminal on March 31.

Outgoing Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu spoke by telephone with Diyarbakır Governor Hüseyin Aksoy after the terror bombing, very likely orchestrated by the PKK.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.

Turkey, EU and United States consider PKK as a terrorist organization.

Turkey's southeast has been rocked by waves of violence since PKK resumed its armed campaign in July 2015 following the parliamentary elections. The state-run Anatolian Agency said 4,432 PKK terrorists have been killed in the encounter-terror raids, launched on July 22.