Turkish officials say at least eight people have been killed in twin attacks by Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey. The bombings Wednesday also wounded dozens more.
Rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, detonated a roadside bomb in the town of Kiziltepe, in Mardin province, killing three people and wounding at least 25, including at least five children.
At the same time, a car bomb explosion targeting police in a historic part of the city Diyarbakir killed at least five civilians and wounded 12 others.
Both bomb attacks were aimed at passing police vehicles but ended up killing mainly civilians.
The bombings came hours after an earlier attack, also blamed on the PKK, killed four soldiers and wounded nine others near the border with Iraq.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter offered condolences to the victims of the attacks in a statement expressing Washington's solidarity with Turkey in combating terrorist activity. Both countries consider the PKK a terrorist organization.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Turkish allies in strongly condemning these despicable attacks, which appear to have targeted Turkish security personnel," Carter said. "The United States remains committed to cooperating closely with Turkey," both in the coalition of nations fighting against Islamic State extremists in the region and within the NATO alliance.
Since hostilities with the PKK resumed last year, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Human rights groups say hundreds of civilians also have died.
Some material for this report came from AP and AFP.
