ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish authorities have detained 38 people including the local head of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in relation to an armed attack which killed two people in the eastern province of Van, governor’s office said on Friday.
The attack on Thursday targeted two municipality personnel and a civilian returning from distributing aid to a neighbourhood placed under quarantine as part of measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
Turkey’s communication director Fahrettin Altun and other officials blamed the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for carrying out the attack.
The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
(Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Dominic Evans)
