PKK militants killed, injured by own bomb

A PKK militant was killed and another was injured when an explosive device they attempted to plant in a garbage container prematurely went off in the western city of İzmir. A second bomb planted in another container nearby also exploded but no casualties were reported.

The militants identified with their initials as S.A. and H.A. were in a car parked near the container in İzmir's Buca district in the early hours yesterday when the bomb went off. Police squads arriving at the scene found the body of the militant in the passenger seat of the car whose ceiling was torn apart in the explosion. The other militant injured in the blast was hospitalized. The second explosion took place 20 minutes later in the container some 300 meters (984 feet) away from the first blast.

Authorities said the militants, who are related to each other, planted the second bomb to kill the police who would respond to the first explosion but safety measures at the scene by responders prevented casualties.

İzmir, Turkey's third largest city, was the scene of another terror attack by the PKK in January. Two militants trying to storm the city's main courthouse were thwarted by Fethi Sekin, a traffic policeman hailed for his bravery. Sekin was killed in a shootout with the militants who also killed a court clerk before they were shot dead by security forces.

The PKK, which has been active since the early 1980s, especially targets the southeastern and eastern regions of Turkey where it draws support from some members of the Kurdish community.