Turkish Resort Bombing Kills 5

A powerful bomb blast destroyed a minibus in a Turkish seaside resort Saturday, killing five people, among them an Irish and a British tourist, and wounding 13 others, officials said.

Police were investigating whether a suicide bomber or a parcel bomb caused the blast in the center of the Aegean town of Kusadasi, a popular destination for foreign tourists.

The attack came just a week after a bombing wounded about 20 people in the nearby resort of Cesme. Kurdish separatists have claimed responsibility for the Cesme attack.

An Irish girl identified as Tara Whaley, 17, and three Turkish nationals were pronounced dead at the scene Saturday.

An injured British woman died after being taken to a hospital, said Kusadasi government official Ali Baris.

Five other Britons were hurt in the explosion, including three who were in serious condition, the Foreign Office in London said.

The explosion occurred at 10:30 a.m. as the bus was heading toward a beach. Turkish television showed the injured lying on the ground close to the charred remains of the vehicle.

Rescue workers used newspapers to cover body parts strewn around the wreckage. Speaking shortly after the explosion, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was taking anti-terrorism measures. But “it is not possible to stop it 100%, no matter how strict security measures you take,” he said.

Speaking in London, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: “We condemn this repugnant act, which has ruined the lives, and the holidays, of so many innocent people. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Turkey.”

A senior Turkish police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, dismissed speculation that the attack was the work of Islamic militants. He said it was more likely to have been carried out by the separatist Kurdish rebel group known as the PKK as part of a newly launched campaign to sabotage Turkey’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry.

A group affiliated with the PKK called the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons claimed responsibility for the bomb attack in Cesme a week ago. The rebels issued a statement earlier this month warning foreign tourists against traveling to Turkey.

The PKK waged a 15-year armed campaign to establish an independent Kurdish state. About 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, died in the conflict.

The PKK called a unilateral truce in 1999 following the capture of its leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The rebels called off their cease-fire on June 1, 2004, saying the Turkish state had repeatedly rebuffed their demands to negotiate a lasting peace.