Two dead in bomb blast in s.east Turkey-police

ISTANBUL, Sep 3 (Reuters) A bomb explosion ripped through a cafe in southeast Turkey today evening, killing two people and injuring nine others, police said.

The explosion occurred around 9 pm (1800 GMT) in a tea garden in the district of Catak in Van province, a police officer in Van told Reuters.

Turkey was rocked by a string of bomb attacks at the end of August in which three people were killed and dozens were wounded. A shadowy Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for those blasts which targeted holiday resorts.

''A bomb exploded in a rubbish bin in a tea garden, killing two people and injuring nine,'' the officer said.

State-run Anatolian news agency reported earlier that 10 people were injured in the blast and taken to nearby hospitals in Van.

It said a police officer was one of those killed in the explosion in the Gumus tea garden.

Leftist and Islamist groups have also carried out bomb attacks in the past.

Reuters DH GC0241