Car bomb kills 4 in Turkey

Istanbul: A car bomb exploded outside a courthouse on Thursday in Turkeys western city of Izmir, killing four persons including two attackers and one policeman, a top official told media. Izmir Governor Erol Ayyildiz told the state-run Anadolu Agency that a court employee, a female usher, lost her life as well in the bombing attack. The attack occurred near a police checkpoint at the courthouse, and an exchange of fire erupted between three militants and the police, with two militants killed later and the other on the run. The governor said that two Kalashnikovs, eight handmade bombs and eight rocket launchers were seized from the terrorists. Preliminary reports indicate the Kurdistan Workers Party outlawed by Ankara is behind the attack, said the governor. The bombing came in the wake of a shooting attack early Sunday on an Istanbul nightclub that left 39 dead, 25 of them foreigners. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the nightclub carnage, but the gunman remains at large.-Agency