ANKARA, Turkey — At least two people were killed and 16 others wounded in an explosion Thursday in the car park of a government building in the southern city of Adana, officials said.

Omer Celik, the minister in charge of European Union affairs, said on his Twitter account that the explosion in front of the Adana governor's office was a "terror" attack. Hurriyet newspaper reported that the attack was believed to be caused by a car bomb.

"This damnable terror is continuing to target our people," Celik said. "We shall continue our struggle against terrorism until the end in the name of humanity."

Mahmut Demirtas, the governor for Adana, said the blast killed two people and wounded 16 others. He told the state-run Anadolu Agency that the explosion occurred close to the entrance to his office and suggested it may have been a suicide attack carried out by a woman.

The attack was the latest in a string of deadly bombings that have rocked Turkey in more than a year. The attacks were carried out by Kurdish militants or the Islamic State group.

Several cars in the parking lot caught fire after the blast, video footage showed. The blast also caused damage to the government building, Anadolu Agency said. </s> A car bomb attack targeting a government building in the southern city of Adana has killed at least two people and wounded 16 others, officials said.

Mahmut Demirtas, the governor for Adana province, told the state-run Anadolu Agency that the attack occurred in a parking lot near the entrance to his office. He said it was believed to have been carried out by a woman, without saying whether it was a suicide attack.

The attack was the latest in a string of deadly bombings that have rocked Turkey for more than a year. The attacks have been carried out by Kurdish militants or the Islamic State group.

"This damnable terror is continuing to target our people," Omer Celik, the minister in charge of European Union affairs, said on his Twitter account. "We will continue our struggle against terrorism until the end in the name of humanity."

Several cars in the parking lot caught fire after the blast, video footage showed. The blast also damaged the government building, Anadolu Agency said.

Some of the wounded were in serious condition, said Huseyin Sozlu, the mayor for the city.

"The bomb that was detonated was a high impact one," he said.

As with previous attacks, Turkish authorities imposed a media ban, barring broadcast and publication of graphic images or information that might hinder the investigation. </s> ISTANBUL: Two people were killed when a car exploded early Thursday outside a government building in the southern Turkish city of Adana, officials said.

“Two people were killed and 16 were wounded,” the governor of Adana, Mahmut Demirtas, was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency Anadolu.

The blast, which occurred outside the governor’s office, is the latest in a wave of violence striking Turkey, whose government is fighting both Kurdish militants and jihadists.

“A vehicle blew up at 8.05am (0505 GMT) at a parking lot next to the entrance of the governor’s office,” Demirtas said.

The attack is believed to have been carried out by a woman, the governor said, without providing further details.

The force of the blast smashed shop windows in the neighbourhood, private NTV broadcaster reported.

Ambulances and fire engine teams were dispatched to the scene, Anadolu reported.

Turkey has been on high alert since 2015 after a series of attacks blamed on Kurdish militants and Islamic State jihadists.

The United States has advised its citizens to carefully consider the need to travel to Turkey at this time. AFP </s> At least two people have died and 16 are injured after a car bomb exploded in southern Turkey.

The explosion took place just after 8:00am on Thursday in a car park near the government building in the city of Adana, and is believed to have been carried out by a woman with links to Kurdish militants or Isis.

Following the explosion, Omer Celik, minister in charge of European Union affairs who lives in Adana, wrote on Twitter: “This damnable terror is continuing to target our people. We will continue our struggle against terrorism until the end in the name of humanity.“

The minister later added: “The ones who target our peace and fundamental rights of our citizens will be punished in the strongest way possible within rule of law.”

The blast damaged the government building, according to Anadolu Agency, and video footage showed several cars caught fire after the explosion, with some of the wounded are reported to be in serious condition.

The attack marks the latest in a string of deadly bombings that have rocked the country for more than a year.

Earlier this month a car bomb exploded in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, killing one person and wounding around 30 other. Days later another explosion occured near a government in building in Derik, southern Turkey, in which several people were reported to have been wounded.

As with previous attacks, Turkish authorities imposed a media ban following the explosion, barring broadcast and publication of graphic images or information that might hinder the investigation. </s> A police officer walks past by a fire after an explosion that killed people and wounded several others in southern city of Adana, Turkey, on Thursday (AP photo)

ISTANBUL — An explosion killed two people and wounded more than 30 outside the governor's office in the southern Turkish city of Adana on Thursday, weeks after the United States warned of attacks by what it called extremist groups.

Video footage showed a vehicle ablaze in the car park outside the building and thick black smoke rising into the sky in the city, 40km from Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Windows were blown out and parts of the facade of the building, roughly six floors high, were torn off.

The state-run Anadolu agency quoted provincial governor Mahmut Demirtas as saying two people were killed. Anadolu said the blast, which occurred shortly after 8am (0500 GMT), came from a vehicle in front of the building.

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in Adana for a conference at a separate location, said 33 people had been wounded in the blast.

Adana is about 16km from Incirlik Air Base, which the US military uses to launch attacks against Daesh militants in Syria. Families of US military personnel were ordered to leave Adana and some other parts of Turkey in March over security concerns.

"Damned terror continues to target our people. We will fight with this terror to the end in the name of humanity," Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik wrote on Twitter, saying he had spoken to the Adana governor.

The US embassy in Turkey condemned what it described as an "outrageous terrorist attack" and said it stood with Turkey, a NATO ally and member of the US-led coalition against Daesh.

Labour Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said Kurdish PKK militants may have been responsible and that 21 people were wounded, five of them seriously.

"It looks like they [the PKK] were probably behind it this morning yet again, as this looks like their one of their actions," he told broadcaster CNN Turk.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The privately owned Dogan news agency said police had shot the driver of a light commercial vehicle which tried to flee despite being ordered to stop by a police team which suspected it was linked to the bombing.

It said an ambulance was sent for the wounded driver along with a bomb disposal expert to inspect the vehicle. </s> A firefighter tries to extinguish burning vehicles after an explosion outside the governor's office in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, November 24, 2016. Ihlas News Agency via REUTERS

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An explosion killed two people and wounded more than 30 outside the governor's office in the southern Turkish city of Adana on Thursday, weeks after the United States warned of attacks by what it called extremist groups.

Video footage showed a vehicle ablaze in the car park outside the building and thick black smoke rising into the sky in the city, 40 km (25 miles) from Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Windows were blown out and parts of the facade of the building, roughly six floors high, were torn off.

The state-run Anadolu agency quoted provincial governor Mahmut Demirtas as saying two people were killed. Anadolu said the blast, which occurred shortly after 8 a.m., came from a vehicle in front of the building.

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, the son-in-law of President Tayyip Erdogan, who was in Adana for a conference at a separate location, said 33 people had been wounded in the blast.

Adana is about 10 miles (16 km) from Incirlik Air Base, which the U.S. military uses to launch attacks against Islamic State militants in Syria. Families of U.S. military personnel were ordered to leave Adana and some other parts of Turkey in March over security concerns.

"Damned terror continues to target our people. We will fight with this terror to the end in the name of humanity," Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik wrote on Twitter, saying he had spoken to the Adana governor.

The U.S. embassy in Turkey strongly condemned what it described as an "outrageous terrorist attack" and said it stood against terror with Turkey, a NATO ally and member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State.

Labour Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said Kurdish PKK militants may have been responsible and that 21 people were wounded, five of them seriously.

"It looks like they (the PKK) were probably behind it this morning yet again, as this looks like their one of their actions," he told broadcaster CNN Turk.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

PKK militants have carried out dozens of attacks on members of the security forces and government buildings since July 2015, when a ceasefire between the group and the Turkish state collapsed. Civilians have also been killed.

A Turkish soldier was killed and two wounded on Thursday after an improvised explosive device was detonated by suspected PKK militants in the southeastern province of Sirnak, near the Syrian and Iraqi borders, security sources said.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union, has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey's southeast.

Turkey has also been hit by at least half a dozen suicide attacks blamed on Islamic State over the past year, including suicide bombings in Istanbul in January and March which killed German and Israeli tourists, and a gun-and-bomb attack at Istanbul airport which killed 45 people in June.

Turkey launched an incursion into Syria to try to push Islamic State away from the border in August, days after a suicide bomber killed more than 50 people at a wedding in the southern city of Gaziantep.

The U.S. Consulate General in Adana warned three weeks ago that "extremist groups continue aggressive efforts to attack U.S. citizens and other foreigners in Adana". The State Department has warned U.S. citizens to avoid travel to southeastern Turkey. </s> At least three people have been killed in a car bomb blast in the southern Turkish town of Reyhanli, located close to the Syrian border.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Friday that initial findings showed the incident in Hatay province may be terror-related.

“Our colleagues are looking into who was behind this,” he said, adding that the government would provide more information in a few hours.

Al Jazeera correspondent said the victims, who were inside the vehicle when it exploded, were believed to be Syrian.

“Reyhanli is close to Syria’s Idlib province so it is [an] important [location] for Syrians passing through from Turkey to Syria,” she said.

Local Governor Rahmi Dogan told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency that the cause of the blast was not immediately known.

Anadolu reported that the blast site was less than a kilometre from the governor’s office.

Video footage distributed by local news agencies showed a car in the middle of the street covered in flames before being extinguished by firefighters.

In May 2013, a twin car bombing blamed on pro-Damascus groups in Reyhanli killed more than 50 people, in one of the deadliest attacks in Turkey’s modern history.

Turkey was hit by a series of terror attacks in 2015 and 2016 blamed on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) armed group and Kurdish fighters, which left hundreds dead.

The last major attack was the New Year massacre by a gunman at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, just minutes into 2017, which left 39 dead. </s> Suspected Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb near local government offices in Turkey's southeastern city of Van on Monday, wounding scores of people, a day after two dozen mayors from Kurdish-run municipalities were stripped of office.

The blast hit some 200 metres from the Van provincial governor's office, security sources said, ripping through the city's central district and setting buildings and cars aflame. Police officials said 27 people were wounded but no one died.

Southeastern Turkey has suffered repeated bombings and other attacks since the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in the region, abandoned a ceasefire in 2015.

Security sources said they suspected the PKK was behind the Van bombing and that an operation had been launched to pursue the suspected militants. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

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The blast tore the front off a four-storey building. Footage from the Dogan news agency showed water cannon trying to douse flames on the street opposite. The district, normally busy, was more empty of traffic on Monday, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Burhan Kayaturk, a local member of parliament from the AKP, said the blast had targeted the ruling AK Party's offices, but that they were well-secured and had not been badly damaged.

Turkey appointed new administrators in 24 Kurdish-run municipalities mostly in the southeast on Sunday after removing their mayors over suspected PKK links, triggering protests. Four towns in Van province were affected by the removals.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey had evidence that the mayors had sent support to Kurdish militants, and that they should have been stripped of their roles sooner.

The pro-Kurdish opposition party, the third-largest in the national parliament, decried what it said was an "administrative coup" and said the move was illegal. </s> A car carrying a bomb exploded Friday in the town center of Reyhanlı district in southern Turkey's Hatay province bordering Syria, killing three Syrian nationals.

Hatay Governor Rahmi Doğan said two Syrian nationals inside the car were killed in the explosion and the subsequent fire, and one other person was injured, who later died at the burn unit in Iskenderun State Hospital.

Soon after the blast, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said initial findings showed that the incident may be terror related. "It is apparent that a bomb was inside the car and those inside were Syrian nationals. All three of them died," Erdoğan said.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu later said the blast is believed to be caused by a handmade explosive. He said the three Syrian nationals involved in the incident were living in Turkey under temporary protection.

The blast took place some 750 meters away from the district governorate building in the town center. Initial reports said that the car, registered in Syria and bearing a temporary Turkish license plate, was parked when the blast happened, but it was later revealed that it was on the move.

It was claimed that the target of the bomb-laden vehicle was people leaving Friday prayers at the nearby Fatih Sultan Mehmet Mosque located some 50 meters away from the blast scene.

Reyhanlı borders Syria and the town center lies to north of the border, while the Cilvegözü border gate, a main crossing into Syria, is some five kilometers away. The district has been home to a large population of Syrian refugees since the conflict erupted in Syria.

On May 11, 2013, a bomb-laden vehicle was detonated in Reyhanlı town center first, killing scores and causing destruction. A second vehicle was detonated five minutes later after dozens, including civilians, first-aid units and security forces, had rushed to the area to help those wounded in the attack.

In addition to killing 53 people and injuring dozens of others, the attack devastated the district, damaging 912 houses, 891 businesses and 148 vehicles. It was the deadliest attack in the country at the time.

The attack was staged by the armed terrorist group the People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey (THKP/C), a former Turkey-based left-wing group that moved to Syria in the 1990s. Syrian intelligence agency al-Mukhabarat was also implicated in the attack, which was conducted by an operative who brought in explosives from Syria and detailed orders on where and how to stage the attack. Pundits claimed that the Assad regime sought to hit the Syrian opposition inside the borders of their main supporter Turkey, and Reyhanlı, as one of the main concentration centers of opposition groups, was chosen for the attack. It was also claimed that by targeting predominantly Sunni Turkmen and the Arab town of Reyhanlı, the regime sought to ignite ethnic tensions inside Turkey and specifically Hatay, where a significant Alawite population lives.

Three months earlier on February 11, 2013, a bomb-laden vehicle brought in Syria was detonated inside the no man's land between Cilvegözü and Bab al-Hawa border gates, killing 18 people and wounding 24 others.

Later in 2017 and early 2018, the town was targeted by the PKK's Syrian offshoot the People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorist group in mortar and rocket attacks launched from positions in Syria's northwestern Afrin district. One person was killed and several others were injured in the attacks, which also targeted Kilis and Gaziantep provinces bordering Syria. Soon after, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch, clearing the area of PKK/YPG militants.
A suspected car bomb outside the office of the governor of the southern Turkish province of Adana kills at least two people and injures 16.