Twin PKK attacks martyr 8 in SE Turkey

By Halil Ibrahim Sincar, Adnan Kochan and Osman Oksuz

MARDIN, Turkey

Eight people, including police officers, were martyred and several others injured on Wednesday in two separate PKK bomb attacks in southeastern Turkey, according to the country's transport minister.

At least three people, including one police officer, were martyred and 30 others, including five police officers, were injured when a handmade roadside explosive was detonated by terrorist organization PKK as a police vehicle was passing by in the Kiziltepe district of the southeastern Mardin province, said Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan.

The terrorist organization PKK also carried out a separate attack in the Sur district of the southeastern Diyarbakir province on Wednesday, targeting another police vehicle.

In Diyarbakir, five civilians were martyred and 12 people, including five police officers, were injured during the bomb attack, according to a statement of provincial governorship. A bomb-laden car was used in the attack, the statement added.

The U.S. "strongly" denounced the attacks with Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter calling them "despicable" in a statement.

"With these attacks, we are reminded of the remarkable bravery and self-sacrifice that allied security personnel demonstrate every day in the fight against terrorism," he said. "The United States remains committed to cooperating closely with Turkey - bilaterally, within the counter-ISIL coalition, and within NATO - in order to defend our nations against common threats."

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, over 600 security personnel, including troops, police officers and village guards have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists killed or neutralized in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.