Turkish Checkpoint Near Syria Bombed - by ISIS?

Explosion wounds 3 including policeman in Suruc, on other side of Syrian border from Kobane recently recaptured from ISIS.

Arutz Sheva Staff, | updated: 13:35

Explosion (illustrative)
Explosion (illustrative)

Three people were wounded, including one policeman, in an explosion Friday at a police checkpoint near the Syrian border in the southern Turkish town of Suruc, local officials said.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear but Turkish media said emergency service vehicles rushed to the scene, reports AFP.

"The explosion took place in a rubbish bin close to a police checkpoint. Three people, including a policeman, were lightly wounded," the governor of the Sanliurfa region, which includes Suruc, Izzettin Kucuk, told Turkish television.

First images from the scene showed that a car had been severely damaged by the blast. Kucuk did not say if the explosion had been caused by a bomb.

Suruc lies just over the border from the Syrian town of Kobane which was recaptured last month by Kurdish fighters after a battle with Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists.

Reportedly 3,000 people in Turkey are linked to ISIS, with there being a fear in the country that the large number of jihadists may turn their sights on local targets.

Turkey has been a key entry point for jihadists flocking to join ISIS in Syria.

The country has been accused of not doing enough to stem that tide of migrant jihadists, and in a recent report one ISIS recruit from the UK said Turkish police showed ISIS members sympathy and even bought them pizza while they were jailed there.