Latest News from Turkey

A vehicle laden with 500kg of explosives, Kalashnikov rifles and ammunition, was apprehended by gendarmerie officials in the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r late on Feb. 18, the Governor's Office has stated, just two days after a car bomb targeting military personnel shuttles killed 28 in the capital Ankara. 

The number of suspects detained over the Ankara car bomb attack has risen to 17, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor has announced.

Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Harun Kodalak also said the incident had now "almost been solved." 

"We have almost solved the incident. Necessary statements will be made by our statesmen soon," Kodalak said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Turkish authorities to immediately release Rami Jarrah, a Syrian journalist based in Turkey, who has been held since Feb. 17.

Jarrah was detained by immigration officials after trying to apply for a residency permit in the border city of Gaziantep, CPJ said in a written statement. 

U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby has said Washington cannot "confirm or deny" whether the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) were responsible for the Feb. 17 attack on Ankara that claimed 28 lives.

Two soldiers and a policeman have been killed in an armed attack by outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants during an operation in the Sur district of the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r, the Turkish Army has announced. 

The statement said the attack, which occurred during an operation in Sur on Feb. 19, heavily wounded two soldiers and a policeman.

One of the most important pieces in Turkish painting, 'Cami Önü' (the front of the mosque), by Ottoman artist Osman Hamdi, is set to be sold for a record price at an upcoming auction A masterpiece by the late-Ottoman artist Osman Hamdi Bey looks set to go for a record price at an upcoming spring sale, according to a local auction house.