Doha: Qatar expressed condemnation and denunciation of the bombing which occurred near a police checkpoint in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak yesterday, killing 11 officers and wounding 78, including three civilians.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said Qatar strongly condemns these heinous criminal acts aimed at destabilising security and stability and affirming solidarity with Turkey in actions and measures it takes to address criminal acts and maintain security and stability in country.
The ministry reiterated Qatar’s rejection of violence and terrorism in all their forms and manifestations, whatever their motives and causes.
It extended condolences and sympathy to the Turkish government, people and families of the victims, wishing the injured a speedy recovery, reports QNA
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed the suicide truck bombing on the police building. It came two days after the Turkish army launched an offensive in Syria that the government says is not only aimed against Islamic State (IS) jihadists but also a Syrian Kurdish militia detested by Ankara.
The blast tore the facade off the headquarters of the riot police in the town of Cizre, a bastion of PKK support north of the Syrian border.
The local governor’s office said 11 officers were killed and 78 injured, three of them civilians. Four were said to be in critical condition.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said the explosion took place 50 metres from the building, at a control post.
The PKK said it carried out the assault in retaliation for the “continued isolation” of the group’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan and the “lack of information” about his welfare.
Cizre, a majority Kurdish town, has been badly hit by renewed violence between the PKK and government forces since the collapse of a ceasefire last year.
Agencies
