Istanbul bus station blast kills 1, wounds 5

ISTANBUL, Mar 31 (Reuters) A blast in a rubbish bin killed one person and injured five others near a bus station in an historic area of Istanbul today, Turkish media reported.

No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion. A bomb disposal unit picked through the debris following the blast in one of the rubbish bins.

Militant groups including Kurdish separatists, Islamists and ultra-leftists have carried out attacks on civilians, security and military targets in Turkey in the past.

The explosion coincides with violent clashes between Kurdish protesters and police in Turkey's troubled southeast, which have cost the lives of up to seven people since Tuesday.

Turkey blames the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is viewed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the United States, for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since they launched an armed struggle in 1984 for a Kurdish state.

Islamists set off a series of devastating bombs in Istanbul in November 2003, targeting British and Jewish sites and killing more than 60 people.

REUTERS KD RAI2234