Five injured in bomb blast in Turkish city

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, June 15 (Reuters) A bomb exploded at a bus station in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir today, injuring four civilians and a soldier, security officials said.

The bomb targeted the mainly Kurdish city's busiest street and a bus station used by army and civilian transportation.

Tensions are running especially high amid mounting clashes between Turkish troops and separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas in southeastern Turkey.

The clashes have fuelled talk of a possible major Turkish army incursion into northern Iraq to attack PKK bases there.

In recent weeks dozens of soldiers and civilians have been killed in suspected attacks by the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, the European Union and Turkey.

The police launched an operation in Diyarbakir -- the largest city in the restive southeast --after the blast and bomb experts tried to determine what type of explosive had caused it.

Officials said it was a time bomb that detonated earlier than planned, preventing a disaster. One person was seriously injured.

In May, eight people were killed when a suicide bomber struck a shopping mall in the capital Ankara. Authorities blamed the attack on the PKK, though the group denied involvement.

Turkish authorities say some 4,000 PKK rebels are based across the mountains in northern Iraq. Earlier this week the PKK announced a conditional ceasefire, although attacks continue.

Turkey's military recently sent tens of thousands of troops, as well as tanks and other military equipment, to the border area with Iraq -- a move which has worried the international community given the relative stability of northern Iraq.

Turkey's top generals have urged the government to authorise a cross-border incursion to crush the PKK rebels. The United States strongly opposes such an operation.

Iraq's foreign minister urged Ankara yesterday to rely on dialogue with Iraqi authorities, the United States and the regional government in the semi-autonomous Kurdish area of northern Iraq.

Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since it launched an armed campaign for autonomy in southeast Turkey in 1984.

Reuters AGL DS1245