Bomb Kills 10 In Turkey

Blast Hit Near School In Diyarbakir; 5 Children Reportedly Among The Dead

(AP)  Authorities say a bomb struck a predominantly Kurdish city in southeastern Turkey on Tuesday, killing ten people and wounding at least 14 others.

Authorities said the bomb was made from powerful explosives and was set off by a cell phone timer. It was not immediately known who placed it, and no one claimed responsibility.

The explosion in the city of Diyarbakir happened around 9 p.m. and an investigation had begun, according to a statement from the provincial governor's office, which gave the casualty toll.

Local news stations said five of the dead are children.

A Kurdish news agency reported that the blast took place near an elementary school. Witnesses said the blast threw body parts over a wide area and left pools of blood from the killed and injured.

Diyarbakir is Turkey's largest Kurdish-majority city, and the blast came as Kurdish rebels fighting for autonomy in the region have stepped up their attacks.

Also on Tuesday, the Turkish military announced that authorities had defused a remote-controlled bomb planted by Kurdish guerrillas on a busy bridge near the southeastern city of Hatay, and a bomb believed placed by rebels exploded as a freight train carrying coal passed in the eastern province of Bingol, damaging three rail cars.

The United States and Turkey are taking measures to counter Kurdish militants who have training camps in northern Iraq and launch frequent raids into Turkey.

Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston arrived in Ankara earlier Tuesday for talks on how to increase U.S.-Turkish cooperation in the fight against the rebels.

More than 37,000 people have been killed in fighting since rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.

Both the United States and Turkey consider the group to be a terrorist organization.