Officials among suspects in Turkish governor's death

MARDIN, Turkey

More than 70 suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of a district governor in Mardin province, southeast Turkey, the provincial governor said Tuesday.

Muhammet Fatih Safiturk died in hospital on Nov. 11 following a bomb attack by PKK terrorists on his office in Derik, around 41 kilometers (25 miles) west of the provincial capital, a day earlier.

Mardin Governor Mustafa Yaman told reporters that 71 people, including 28 public officials, had been arrested and were being questioned over the attack.

He said municipality workers were involved in deliberately detonating the improvised device, which was delivered to Safiturk’s office by courier.

“All of the suspects of the attack are apprehended,” Yaman said.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU, resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year, since when around 310 civilians and 800 security force personnel have been killed and more than 10,000 terrorists have been killed or apprehended.

*Reporting by Halil Ibrahim Sincar; Writing by Burcu Arik