At least 8 dead, 50 reportedly wounded after car bomb explosion in Turkey

ISTANBUL (AP) — A car bomb explosion in Turkey has killed at least 8 people and wounded 50, according to reports from Turkish media.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border. Kurdish militants are active in the area, and the fight between Turkish security forces and Kurdish rebels, who seek autonomy in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast, has intensified in recent weeks.

Television footage showed firefighters attempting to douse a fierce blaze that gutted several vehicles. Medics assisted a wounded person on a stretcher, and ambulance sirens wailed as bystanders gathered to survey the wreckage.

Eyewitnesses say a man was seen running away from a parked car outside a police station minutes before the blast.

The car bomb was remote-controlled, Gaziantep’s Gov. Erdal Ata told Turkey’s Dogan News Agency, according to Reuters.

Police officers were among the wounded, the agency reported.

NTV television said eight people died and as many as 50 were wounded.

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