January 7, 2008 | M. Alıhan Hasanoğlu Dukan

Both Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani have condemned the bomb attack which killed last week five people in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish populated southwestern Anatolian province of Diyarbakır, describing the bombing as a brutal act that targeted Kurds.

A bomb-laden car exploded Thursday in front of a building packed with students preparing for university entrance, as a military bus carrying soldiers passed by. Four of the people killed were students. The explosion also left 68 people injured, including more than 30 soldiers.
Speaking at a joint press conference on Saturday following a meeting with Barzani in Dokan resort, about 40 kilometers west of Sulaimaniya, Talabani said the attack was "against the Kurdish population."

"We regret that and present our condolences to the martyrs' families; we do believe that it is a criminal act," the Iraqi president who is also a Kurd added. For his part, Barzani, the head of the largely autonomous Kurdish region in the north, condemned the attack too, calling it "a terrorist act."

Barzani said he hoped "that all can recognize the enemies of freedom and peace are trying to commit more terrorist acts in order not to give a chance to dialogue" to resolve differences.

Meanwhile, Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the regional Kurdish government, condemned the attack in a separate statement released on Saturday on behalf of the regional government.

"As I have stated before, these kinds of terrorist acts have no place in a civilized society and must be condemned in the strongest terms by all who stand for freedom and liberty. There is no reason or explanation that can justify this type of terrorism and we join the world in condemning this senseless act of violence. It is our hope that the perpetrators will be brought quickly to justice and held accountable for their crime. Our sympathy and condolences go out to the families of the victims of this tragedy and we hope and pray that they may find some comfort and peace at this most difficult of times for them," Nechirvan Barzani said.

Also Saturday, during a visit to Diyarbakır, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the attack bears the hallmark of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK.)

Police are questioning four people over suspected links to the attack, which authorities have blamed on the PKK which is listed as a terrorist organization by a large majority of the international community. No one has claimed responsibility.