2nd LD: Death toll rises to six in car bomb attack in SE Turkey

Death toll has risen to six police officers in car bomb attack at an armored police vehicle in southeastern Turkey on Thursday, semi-official Anadolu News Agency reported.

Moreover, 23 others were wounded in the attack near a bus terminal in the city of Diyarbakir, according to the agency.

A car bomb exploded while the armored police vehicle was passing near a bus terminal, said the report.

Several ambulances were dispatched to the scene while the injured police officers were transferred to Diyarbakir military hospital for treatment, said the report.

The blast was very strong so that windows of the nearby houses were broken and many vehicles were damaged, local CnnTurk broadcaster reported.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was scheduled to visit the province on Friday. The vehicle was carrying police officials who were being transferred to Diyarbakir for additional security measures.

A two-year ceasefire between the government and the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) collapsed in July last year.

Turkish security forces have launched a major campaign against the group in the southeast of the country. The government has declared curfew in several districts of Diyarbakir province.

More than 300 members of Turkish security forces and thousands of PKK members have been killed since last July in confrontations inside Turkey and in northern Iraq.

The PKK, which has been waging a separatist war against Turkey since 1984, is listed as terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Endit