A car bomb explosion in southeast Turkey on Friday left at least nine policemen dead and 45 others injured. The blast in the town of Cizre in Sirnak province, which shares a border with both Iraq and Syria, took place at a police checkpoint, according to NTV news channel, Reuters reported.

Ambulances and helicopters were sent to the location, where black smoke could be seen rising from the debris of the building, Al Jazeera reported. State media Anadolu Agency held the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) responsible for the attack, which targeted a predominantly Kurdish region.

Turkey, the United States and European Union have listed the PKK as a terrorist organisation. The outfit has been blamed for a number of attacks that have taken place in the country since the decades-long ceasefire between it and the government collapsed in July.