Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the PKK Kurdistan Workers Party for a car bomb attack that killed at least 13 people in the centre of the country. In a statement in the Turkish press, he said the “separatist terrorist organisation” was responsible for the attack, this being the title he frequently affords the PKK.

An offshoot of the Kurdish militant group the PKK has said it was behind Saturday’s twin bomb attack outside a football stadium in Istanbul.

Turkey’s first steps towards accession to Europe go back more than 50 years, when Ankara asked for an association agreement with the European Economic Community. Negotiations officially began in 2005.

The European Parliament’s upcoming vote on whether or not to halt EU membership talks with Turkey has “no value” in Turkish eyes, the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says.

Istanbul (Turkey)  - Several people have been wounded in an explosion in the Maltepe district of Istanbul, according to reports.

Turkish police have reportedly arrested Akin Atalay, chairman of the opposition daily Cumhuriyet.

A new US-backed Kurdish and Arab offensive is underway aimed at retaking the northern city of Raqqa – ISIL’s de facto capital in Syria.

Police have fired tear gas to disperse crowds of demonstrators in Istanbul.

The Iraqi army has dropped tens of thousands of leaflets over the ISIL stronghold of Mosul, warning residents of an imminent offensive to reclaim the city from the jihadist group.

Turkey-backed Syrian rebels have begun attacking the ISIL-held village of Dabiq.