Turkey: Two attackers shot dead after PKK-blamed car blast kills two in Izmir

A police officer and a courthouse employee were killed in the attack, he said. He also confirmed that police had shot dead two of the attackers, and said they were armed with Kalashnikov rifles and grenades.

Initial findings suggest the Kurdish PKK militant group was behind a car bombing outside a courthouse in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Thursday which killed two people, provincial governor Erol Ayyildiz said.

This photo obtained from the photo agency Depo Photos shows a police officer (C) crying and reacting while being evacuated after a colleague was killed at the site of an explosion in front of the courthouse in Izmir on Wednesday.(AFP)

“A clash erupted after our police officers wanted to stop a vehicle at a police check point in front of Bayrakli courthouse. In this clash, terrorists detonated the car bomb while trying to escape,” Ayyildiz told reporters in comments broadcast live.

A police officer and a courthouse employee were killed in the attack, he said. He also confirmed that police had shot dead two of the attackers, and said they were armed with Kalashnikov rifles and grenades.