Turkish car bomb leaves at least three dead and over 100 injured
A car bomb in the Turkish city of Elazig has killed at least three people and left over 100 more injured. The blast struck near a local police station on Thursday morning, hours after another car bomb was detonated near the Iranian border. It is believed that Kurdish separatist groups could be responsible , however, as yet no group has claimed responsibility for either attack.

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At least 11 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in a string of bombings blamed on separatist militants in Turkey.

One blast struck near a police station in the city of Elazig on Thursday morning, hours after another car bomb was detonated near the Iranian border.

A third attack saw a roadside bomb targed a military vehicle as it carried soldiers through the south-east of the country.

Members of the public and police inspect the site of a car bomb attack on a police station in the eastern Turkish city of Elazig on August 18, 2016. (AFP/Getty Images)

Local suspicion quickly turned to Kurdish separatist groups but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.

Footage showed dozens of people running from the explosion in Elazig, which partly destroyed several buildings and left the street strewn with rubble and overturned cars.

Inside the police station, officers searched for their colleagues through offices filled with debris, after windows were shattered and walls and ceilings blown down by the force of the blast.

A large plume of smoke was seen rising from the area of the blast as emergency services gathered at the scene at 9.20am local time (7.20am BST).

Murat Zorluoglu, the governor for Elazig, said the explosion killed three police officers and wounded 146 people, with 14 in a serious condition.

Kurdish militants have carried out frequent bomb attacks in south-eastern parts of Turkey in recent months but Elazig, in Eastern Anatolia, has not been an area of significant conflict.

Officials work at the blast scene after a car bomb attack on a police station in the eastern Turkish city of Elazig, Turkey August 18, 2016. (Reuters)

Hours later in the south-eastern province of Bitlis, four soldiers were killed and seven wounded after rebels detonated an improvised explosive device as an armoured military vehicle was passing by.

On Wednesday night, three people were killed and 73 more - 53 civilians and 20 police officers - had been wounded when a car bomb exploded near another police station in the eastern province of Van near the Iranian border.

The Defence Minister, Fikri Isik, said the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was behind the attacks. “The people see the real face of the PKK,” he said.

Amnesty International condemned the bombings as “the latest in a series of reckless and brutal attacks”.

"Those responsible for these crimes show a contempt for the right to life and must be brought to justice," said Andrew Gardner, the rights group's Turkey researcher.

Authorities imposed a temporary blackout on media coverage of the bombing in Elazig, citing “public order and national security” concerns in a move frequently seen after deadly attacks.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (C) at the scene of a car bomb attack on a police station in the city of Elazig, on August 18, 2016. (AFP/Getty Images)

Thursday's order asked media organisations to refrain from broadcasting and publishing anything that may cause “fear in the public, panic and disorder and which may serve the aims of terrorist organisations”.

Clashes between fighters and the Turkish military resumed last year after a fragile peace process collapsed.

More than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency, while human rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed.

Tens of thousands of people since the PKK, with is proscribed as a terrorist group by the British Government and others, took up arms demanding autonomy in Turkey in 1984.

The latest attacks came amid continuing international alarm over the government’s response to a failed coup to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said more than 40,000 people had been detained since the attempt on 15 July and about half have been formally arrested pending charges.

Those arrested include journalists and academics accused of supporting the Gulen movement, which authorities blame for the coup, and thousands of public sector workers have been suspended or sacked.

Mark Toner, a spokesperson for the US State Department, raised concern over the closure of the pro-Kurdish Ozgur Gundem newspaper on Tuesday.

In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Show all 17 1 / 17 In pictures: Turkey coup attempt In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Erdogan attends the funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih mosque on July 17, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey Burak Kara/Getty Images In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soldiers involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge with their hands raised in Istanbul on 16 July, 2016 Gokhan Tan/Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A civilian beats a soldier after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 REUTERS/Murad Sezer In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Surrendered Turkish soldiers who were involved in the coup are beaten by a civilian Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soliders involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave flags as they capture a Turkish Army vehicle Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People pose near a tank after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Brigde Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A Turkish military stands guard near the Taksim Square in Istanbul Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Pierre Crom/Twitter In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers secure the area as supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim square AP In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Murad Sezer/Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers detain police officers during a security shutdown of the Bosphorus Bridge Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish Army armoured personnel carriers in the main streets of Istanbul Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Chaos reigned in Istanbul as tanks drove through the streets EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media in the resort town of Marmaris Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of President Erdogan celebrate in Ankara following the suppression of the attempted coup Reuters

“We would encourage Turkey, as it takes these kind of steps in the security realm, to be mindful of the impact that that kind of action would have on its democratic institutions,” he said.

Michael Horowitz, a senior analyst at the Levantine Group, told The Independent PKK attacks had increased in both number and sophistication since the failed coup, which saw thousands of army personnel discharged.

“Kurdish insurgents have intensified their attacks against Turkish security forces, and are using car bombs to target both police stations as well as smaller targets, such as police convoys,” he said.

“The PKK is taking advantage of the weakening of the army to increase its campaign of attacks.”

Among the senior officers removed from their posts was General Adem Huduti, an alleged coup leader and the commander of Turkey's Second Army - the division in charge of south-eastern Turkey and the borders with Iraq, Syria and Iran.

“He was a central piece in the fight against the PKK and his dismissal and arrest have left a void that the PKK is attempting to exploit,” Mr Horowitz added.

“Beyond that, the PKK may see the aftermath of the coup as an unprecedented opportunity to put pressure on Erdogan's government, and force him to resume negotiations.”

Additional reporting by Reuters