Turkey detains 18 in connection with attack near courthouse

Turkish authorities detained 18 people Friday in connection with a foiled attack at a courthouse in the western city of Izmir that nevertheless killed a policeman and a courthouse employee.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said authorities had "no doubt" that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, was behind the attack. "The investigation has been carried out thoroughly and fairly," he said, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

The two assailants were also shot dead in Thursday’s incident after they detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a road block and engaged in a shootout with police. The attackers were armed with automatic rifles, rocket launchers and hand grenades.

The attack was the latest in a string of assaults that have hit Turkey. The suspected attacker of a nightclub in Istanbul where 39 people were killed while celebrating New Year's remains at large. Authorities said they know who he is but have not publicly named him.