Bomb discovered aboard bus carrying judiciary authorities in Istanbul

The driver of a bus on Monday discovered a bomb as he checked his vehicle after he carried judiciary personnel to work in Istanbul and threw it out of the bus before calling police to defuse it, private CNN-Turk television reported.

Photo: Bomb discovered aboard bus carrying judiciary authorities in Istanbul

The discovery of the remote-controlled bomb comes amid a surge of violence by Kurdish militants who have carried out similar bomb attacks in the past.

Leftist militants have also targeted judiciary personnel in bomb attacks in the past in Istanbul.

The bomb mechanism was connected to a cell phone, CNN-Turk said. A similar bomb by suspected Kurdish rebels was used to blow up a minibus in the Aegean resort town of Kusadasi last year, killing five people, including a British and an Irish tourist.

Turkey is witnessing escalated violence by Kurdish militants following a surge of clashes between Turkish troops and Kurdish guerrillas as well as violent street clashes in southeastern Turkey that left dozens of people dead in recent weeks.

Kurdish guerrillas have been fighting for autonomy in the Kurdish-dominated southeast since 1984. The fighting has claimed the lives of more than 37,000 people so far, reports the AP.

I.L.