5 remanded over terror attack in SE Turkey

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

Five people were remanded in custody on Monday over a PKK terror group attack last week in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey which killed seven civilians.

Among those remanded was a local mayor from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a party Turkey’s government has accused of having ties with the terrorist PKK.

In addition to Mehmet Fatih Tas, the mayor of Kulp, other top officials in the town were remanded over the deadly attack, including Fatma Ay, his so-called “co-mayor.”

The improvised explosive attack in Kulp last Thursday targeted villagers on their way to collect firewood, also injuring 10 people and leaving a 1.5-meter (5-foot) crater in the ground.

An investigation of the attack found that a vehicle belonging to the Diyarbakir Municipality was at the scene of the crime shortly before the explosion.

The district head of the opposition HDP was previously arrested along with the civil works director for Kulp.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.