Turkey blast 'kills seven' in Tunceli

The blast targeted a vehicle carrying security forces.
The city is near the country's Kurdish area and suspicion will automatically fall upon Kurdish rebel group the PKK, says the BBC's Istanbul correspondent James Reynolds.

Fighting between Turkish troops and the PKK - the Kurdistan Workers' Party - has escalated in recent months.

Six members of the security forces and one civilian died in the attack in the Ataturk neighbourhood, said local media and hospital sources.

Turkish TV stations showed pictures of workers trying to put out fires in two burnt-out vehicles.
Reports said a vehicle carrying explosives was remotely detonated as an armoured vehicle carrying security forces passed by, sending a huge plume of dark smoke over the city.

Some reports said a civilian vehicle was also damaged in the explosion.

One report, in Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News, said security forces arriving on the scene clashed with suspected PKK militants, with one militant killed.

No-one has yet said they carried out the attack, but Kurdish rebels are active in the city, which is the capital of the province of Tunceli.
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