Eight police officers wounded in Turkey car bombing

The wounded were taken to hospital and are not in a serious condition

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  Forensic experts examine the site of the car bombing along a motorway in Diyarbakir, Turkey. All photos: Reuters

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  The bomb detonated at about 5am while as a police vehicle passed by on its way to Diyarbakir

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  The armoured police minibus was damaged, with eight officers wounded

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  The wounded were taken to hospital and are said to be in good condition

Eight police officers and an individual were wounded in a car bombing in south-east Turkey on Friday morning.

Their armoured minibus was damaged after the bomb detonated along the motorway connecting Diyarbakir to Mardin, the state-run TRT reported.

The wounded were taken to hospital "as a precaution" before being discharged.

The bomb detonated at about 5am while the officers were on their way to Diyarbakir, in southern Turkey, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.

Two people are in police custody, he said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.

ISIS, leftist and Kurdish groups have all carried out several attacks across Turkey in recent years.

Diyarbakir is the country's largest Kurdish-majority city and is the capital of the eponymous province.

One police officer was killed and another wounded in a September attack on a police sentry box in Mersin province.

The Interior Ministry said Kurdish militants staged the attack and later detonated suicide belts.

Ankara said the perpetrators were members of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), designated a terrorist group by Turkey and its western allies. Its armed wing later claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group was blamed for a bombing in Istanbul that killed six people, including two children, in November.

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  A mourner lays flowers on Istiklal Avenue in Turkey's capital Istanbul, where a bomb blast killed six people on Sunday. AFP

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  A shrine has been created on the popular pedestrianised shopping street. AFP

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  Mourners at the site where the bomb exploded. AP

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  Municipal workers clear up after the blast. AFP

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  Police officers block an entrance to Istiklal Avenue after Sunday's blast. AP

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  Forensics experts examine the bomb site. AFP

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  People leave the area after an explosion on Istanbul's popular pedestrian Istiklal Avenue Sunday. AP

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  Security officers move crowds away from the scene of the explosion. AP

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  Shoppers run away from the busy shopping street. AP

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  Ambulances and police at the scene of the explosion. Reuters

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  Bodies of unidentified people lay on the ground after the blast. Reuters

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  The Turkish Red Crescent has said blood has been sent to hospitals in the vicinity and there is currently no "urgent need" for donations. Reuters

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  Video footage showed panicked residents fleeing after a loud bang was heard, with multiple people lying on the ground. Reuters

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  A boy is cared for after the explosion. Getty

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  Police work at the scene after the explosion. Reuters

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  An ambulance passes people leaving a store. AFP

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  Forensic teams on the scene. Reuters

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  Police and emergency service members near where the blast happened. Reuters

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  Istiklal is one of the busiest streets in Istanbul. Getty

The blast, on a busy shopping street in the city, triggered new aerial assaults on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces across the border, which Turkey accuses of being an offshoot of the PKK.

The SDF denied involvement in the attack, which Ankara claimed was planned in areas under their control.

The country has since threatened to carry out a ground invasion of north-eastern Syria and warned bombings were “just the beginning”.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had asked Russia, an ally of Damascus, for help with the ground invasion, and has hinted the three may “work together”.

The US, Russia and Germany have all urged restraint from Ankara, which has launched three major operations in northern Syria since 2016.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Turkey conflict with the PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara in a bid for more rights for the country's Kurdish minority.

The group is based in the mountains of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

Turkey regularly bombs the region in operations against the group, but has also killed civilians and struck populated areas in major cities such as Sulaimaniyah.