Truck bomb decimates police headquarters in Turkish town

CIZRE, Turkey, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A truck bombing Friday killed at least 11 police officers and injured 70 other people at a police headquarters in the Turkish town of Cizre, Turkish officials said.

The bomb exploded at a checkpoint in front of the headquarters, destroying the facility. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Kurdistan Workers Party, also known as the PKK, is being blamed by Turkish media.

A shootout followed the explosion, police said. Of the 70 injured in the blast, four were in critical condition.

Following the blast, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim vowed to stop terror in the country, saying "the brotherhood will not be damaged.

"Let our nation know that we have opened a total war against these terrorist groups," he said during a press conference in Istanbul.

The town of Cizre has been the center of tensions between the PKK and the Turkish government for months, and curfews are routine in the area.