AKP official killed in suspected PKK attack in Turkey's southeast

A member of the ruling party in Turkey's restive southeast has been killed in an attack blamed on militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a local official said Tuesday.

Deryan Aktert, head of a local office of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Diyarbakir province, was hit by gunfire at a gas station and later succumbed to his injuries, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

It marked the second attack targeting ruling party officials within 24 hours, after the killing at the weekend of another ruling party official, Aydin Mustu, in the eastern province of Van.

After the latest killing, Turkish security forces have launched a hunt to find perpetrators, the official said. 

Turkish police have detained at least 28 suspects, according to a security source. 

The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.

The group resumed attacks on Turkish security forces after the collapse in July 2015 of a fragile truce.

According to the International Crisis Group, more than 2,100 people have been killed in fighting between the Turkish state and PKK supporters since the truce collapsed.

The groups estimates around 750 security personnel have been killed, along with 800 Kurdish militants and 338 civilians.

The Turkish government claimed in June that its forces had killed 7,600 PKK militants since the end of the ceasefire.