3 people were killed and about 16 injured in an explosion possibly caused by a suicide bomber in the eastern Turkish city of Van. Police said the attack took place around the office of Van's governor and added that they are looking into the cause of the explosion but gave no other information.

"We think it may have been a suicide bomber targeting a vehicle belonging to the municipality in the centre of Van the deputy governor of Van," said a police official. Tensions have been recently ignited in Van, a mainly Kurdish city near the Iranian border.

A state prosecutor started a crisis this week between Turkey's powerful military and the civilian authorities when he accused a top general for abusing his position and forming a group trying to cause unrest in the Kurdish southeast.

The government and the military, embarrassed by these accusations, distanced themselves from it while protecting General Yasar Buyukanit, who heads Turkey's land forces.

Buyukanit was accused of being involved in a bombing in the southeastern town of Semdinli on November 9, accident which caused the death of one person and the wounding of other 6. The latter will follow Hilmi Ozkok, who is due to retire in August.

Turkish troops have been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since 1984, claiming more than 30,000 human lives. Turkey recently started membership discussions with the European Union and was demanded improvements on poverty and to respect the rights of a large Kurdish population.