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Turkey arrests suspect of blast at pro-Kurdish party rally

Xinhua, June 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

A suspect of an explosion at a pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) election rally in Turkey's southeastern province Diyarbakir was detained Saturday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday.

"We ordered to investigate all connections and the past of the suspect," Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolia news agency in central Anatolia's Konya province.

Three people were killed and more than 100 wounded in explosions occurred on Friday in Diyarbakir, two days before the country's parliamentary elections.

Thousands of supporters were rallying at the city station square for pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) Chairman Selahattin Demirtas's address when the blast took place.

It was not the first time the HDP had come under attack before the elections.

Unidentified assailants fired on a campaign minibus of HDP on Wednesday, killing the driver. Seven people were injured in simultaneous explosions at two HDP headquarters in southern Adana and Mersin provinces on May 18.

Turkish voters started on Sunday to cast their ballots to elect 550 parliament members as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) looks to a fourth consecutive election win.

Turkey is very critical to change political climate of the country since the distribution of lawmakers among the political parties of the parliament would dramatically change if the HDP crosses the 10 percent election threshold. Endit