PKK bomb kills 3-year-old in SE Turkey

MARDIN, Turkey

A three-year-old girl was killed Thursday and her five-year-old brother injured when a makeshift bomb planted by the PKK terrorist organization exploded in the southeastern Mardin province.

The blast in a residential area in Nusaybin district left Havin Gunes with critical injuries, according to a medical source at the Mardin State Hospital.

Havin’s elder brother Fatih, 5, was also injured, the source added.

The hospital confirmed later Thursday that Havin has succumbed to her injuries.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Last year, the Abdulkadir Pasa neighborhood -- where Thursday’s explosion occurred -- saw PKK terrorists digging up ditches and setting up barricades against security forces.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.

It is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

On Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was visiting Mardin to hold a rally ahead of the April 16 referendum.