Bomb in eastern Turkey wrecks cargo train-report

ISTANBUL, June 18 (Reuters) A bomb explosion today on a railway track in eastern Turkey destroyed eight carriages of a cargo train state news agency Anatolian reported.

The bomb, which exploded as the train passed, flipped over 12 carriages, leaving eight unusable, and wrecked 20 metres of track in the eastern province of Mus, Anatolian said.

No further details were available.

Attacks against security forces, civilians and property in the mainly Kurdish east and southeast have escalated in recent months, while Istanbul has also been targeted with bomb blasts claimed by a group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

A bomb exploded in a trash can in central Istanbul this week, which has not been claimed, while on Friday a bomb in the eastern province of Van injured three and smashed the windows of a meteorological centre.

The PKK, considered a terrrorist organisation by Ankara, the European Union and the United States, has been blamed for more than 30,000 deaths since the start of its campaign for a homeland in 1984.

REUTERS KD BST1816