Two dead in Turkey bomb blast

A remote-controlled bomb exploded in a tea garden in Turkey today, killing two people and injuring seven others.

The bomb was left at a tea garden in the town of Catak in Van province, which borders Iran, a police official said.

It exploded as police arrived at the scene to investigate a suspicious package at the open-air café, where people gather to drink tea, eat snacks and play backgammon.

Two people, including a police officer, died of injuries in hospital, a government official said.

Police suspect Kurdish rebels were behind the bombing, the police official said.

Television footage showed medics carrying the injured, in bloodied clothes, from ambulances onto stretchers and into the emergency service of a heavily-guarded hospital.

Earlier this week, a Kurdish militant group believed to be linked to the PKK claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings in tourist resorts and in Istanbul that left three people dead and dozens injured, including 10 Britons and several other tourists.