ANKARA, Turkey — A roadside blast killed five policemen and two civilians in Turkey’s southeast on Tuesday, an official said.
A police vehicle appears to have been the target for the attack in the town Guroymak in Bitlis province, while the civilians were travelling in a truck behind, said Gov. Nurettin Yilmaz of Bitlis province.
The area has seen a spike in attacks by suspected Kurdish rebels seeking greaters autonomy, killing dozens of members of the country’s security force and at least 17 civilians since mid-July. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984.
Turkey’s state-run TRT television, citing local authorities, said the civilian casualties were a father and his 2-year-old daughter. Four other people were wounded in the explosion, Yilmaz said.
One soldier was wounded in a separate roadside bomb attack in the southeastern province of Mardin, authorities said.