Car bomb and gun attack near Turkish courthouse

IZMIR, Turkey (AP) – Suspected Kurdish militants on Thursday opened fire at police who stopped them at a checkpoint in the western city of Izmir before detonating their explosives-laden vehicle and escaping, the province’s governor said. A policeman and a courthouse employee were killed in the attack while two assailants were shot dead.

Gov. Erol Ayyildiz said preliminary indications pointed to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has carried out a string of attacks in the past year and a half, mainly targeting Turkey’s security forces. Islamic State militants have also carried several deadly attacks in the country.

“The information so far suggests it is the PKK. Such a conclusion was reached after we assessed the attack and ID’d the people,” Ayyildiz said.

The governor did not refer to earlier reports that a third attacker was on the run.

Ayyildiz said the attackers were carrying two automatic rifles, rocket launchers and eight hand grenades.

The attack occurred near a courthouse in Izmir’s Bayrakli district, close to an entrance used by judges, prosecutors and other employees.

Ayyildiz said “six or seven” people were also wounded in the attack, adding that police vigilance had foiled a possible more serious attack.

Earlier, Turkey’s state-run news agency said police were looking for a third suspect who was on the run, described as wearing a black coat and a white beret.

The incident follows a string of attacks, carried out by IS or Kurdish militants, which have left Turkey on edge.

Thirty-nine people were killed in a nightclub attack in Istanbul during New Year’s celebrations. The IS group claimed that attack. On Wednesday, police had detained some 20 people in Izmir believed to have links to the nightclub attacker who is still at large.