Children killed in Turkey bomb accident

Four Turkish children were killed and seven others injured today after they accidentally set off an explosive device in south-eastern Turkey, officials said.

The children, aged seven to 11, found the device near a school in their village of Andac in the largely Kurdish province of Sirnak. They set it off while playing with it, a local official said.

There was no information on the nature of the device, but an official said an investigation was underway. The Anatolia news agency said the device was left by autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels.

The injured children were flown to a military hospital by helicopter, Anatolia said, but gave no information on their condition.

For 15 years Turkey’s south-east was the battle ground between Kurdish rebels and Turkish troops.

Fighting has died down since 1999, when Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured, but there has been a recent increase in clashes.

Hand-grenades, bombs and land mines have caused the deaths of scores of children in the region who accidentally detonated them while playing.