The Latest on an explosion and detentions in Kurdish areas of Turkey (all times local):
1:20 p.m.
The TurkeyBlocks monitoring network is reporting that access to various social media and messaging apps have been restricted as of 1:20 a.m. Friday, coinciding with the detentions of 12 pro-Kurdish politicians.
Users nationwide have been complaining about restricted access to various social media and messaging, including Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Skype.
TurkeyBlocks confirmed the restricted access, saying its monitoring probes have identified “throttling at the ISP level as the source of the slowdowns, with the majority of internet users affected at the time of measurement.”
Rights activists say restricting access to the internet is aimed at preventing calls for demonstrations.
Last week, internet access was periodically blocked in the southeast following the arrest of the co-mayors of the largest predominantly Kurdish city, Diyarbakir.
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12:50 p.m.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief has expressed concern over the detention of 12 pro-Kurdish politicians by Turkish authorities over their refusal to testify in ongoing terror-related investigations.
Friday’s overnight detentions included People’s Democratic Party co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag.
EU commissioner for foreign affairs Federica Mogherini wrote on Twitter: “Extremely worried for arrest of Demirtas & other HDP MPs. In contact w/ authorities Called EU ambassadors meeting in Ankara.”
Mogherini had also criticized last month the detention of the co-mayors of Turkey’s largest predominantly Kurdish city, Diyarbakir, issuing a statement calling on Turkey to resume Kurdish peace efforts saying “a political solution is the only viable option.”
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12:35 p.m.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says a car bomb attack in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir has killed eight people.
Yildirim said up to 100 people were hurt in Friday’s blast but only seven of them remain in hospital.
The prime minister said those killed were two police officers, a technician and five civilians.
The prime minister also said one of the assailants was “caught dead” but did not provide details.
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Noon
A large explosion, caused by a car bomb, hit the largest city in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast region on Friday, hours after authorities detained at least 12 pro-Kurdish legislators for questioning in terror-related probes.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said both police and civilians were killed in the attack but did not say how many. The state-run Anadolu Agency said one person was killed and some 30 others were wounded.
The blast occurred in Diyarbakir’s Baglar district, near a building used by the riot police. The Diyarbakir governor’s office said the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, had claimed the attack.
Anadolu said the attack was carried out with a minibus laden with a ton of explosives.
[Source:-Salon]
