Car bomb kills two in Turkey

ANKARA: A car bombing blamed on Kurdish militants rocked the Turkish city of Izmir on Thursday, killing at least two people and triggering a deadly shootout, as authorities chased the fugitive killer behind the New Year attack in Istanbul.

Turkey is on edge after the shooting rampage at the Reina nightclub unleashed shortly after revellers rang in 2017 which killed 39 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

A top official said the gunman may be a Turkic Uighur and several people of Uighur origin were arrested earlier on Thursday.

Just four days after the nightclub carnage, a car bomb exploded outside a courthouse in the Aegean city of Izmir on Thursday afternoon, with authorities blaming the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

State-run Anadolu news agency said a policeman and a court worker, reportedly a bailiff, were killed.

Police battled “terrorists” in a clash which saw two militants killed while another escaped and is now being pursued.