A powerful explosion has hit near a riot police headquarters in Turkey’s southeastern city of Diyarbakir.
Medics said at least four people were injured in the blast that rocked the largest Kurdish-majority city on Tuesday.
The blast could be heard in several areas of Diyarbakir, reports said. Gray smoke was reportedly seen rising from the area.
Ambulances and police were sent to the blast’s scene.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the explosion occurred during the repair of a vehicle at the police compound.
Tensions have been running high in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast since a ceasefire declared by the PKK collapsed in 2015 in the wake of Ankara’s military operations against the Kurdish group’s positions both inside the country as well as in northern Iraq.
Turkey has declared the PKK a terrorist organization and has banned it. The militant group has been calling for an autonomous Kurdish region since 1984.
In response to the military raids, PKK militants have stepped up their attacks against Turkish security forces over the past 18 months.
The blast comes few days before a referendum on constitutional changes. The April 16 plebiscite is mainly aimed at abolishing the office of the prime minister and giving more executive powers to the president. Critics say the vote would give the president dictatorial powers.