Kurdish militant group TAK claims Turkey car bomb attack

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People look at damage caused by Friday\'s car bomb in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. The SITE Intelligence Group reports that the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack in Diyarbakir, Turkey, that left several people dead. Turkish authorities have banned distribution of images relating to the Diyarbakir explosion within Turkey. (AP Photo/Mahmut Bozarslan)

ISTANBUL – A Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack in Turkey’s southeast, following a claim by the Islamic State group for the same attack.

TAK, also known as the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, stated on its website Sunday that it conducted the suicide attack in the majority Kurdish city of Diyarbakir in response to Turkey’s “relentless oppression and attacks.”

TAK is an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization.

The Friday morning explosion near a riot police building killed at least 11 people, including two police officers.

The Diyarbakir governor’s office says PKK militants were behind the attack, based on radio intelligence and has dismissed the claim of responsibility by IS militants.

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