Polly Curtis and agencies
An apparent bomb explosion has injured at least 20 people in the Turkish town of Cesme, according to reports today.
The explosion occurred in a rubbish bin - where Kurdish rebels, Islamic and leftist militants are known to plant bombs, NTV television said. There were no claims of responsibility for the attack.
The explosion took place near a bank in downtown Cesme, a popular tourist destination, some 70km away from the Aegean port city of Izmir. Bomb squads cordoned off the area.
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Guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, have battled government forces in a conflict that has killed more than 37,000 people in south eastern Turkey since 1984.
The rebels have recently threatened to spread the war across Turkey. The guerrilla group, considered a terrorist organisation by the US government and the European Union, has also threatened to target Turkey's lucrative tourism industry, accusing Turkey of using tourism revenues to support its military drive against them.
The British Foreign Office advises that there is a high threat of terrorism in Turkey.
An attack against the British consulate general and the headquarters of HSBC in Istanbul on November 20 2003, believed to have been committed by individuals associated with al-Qaida, caused 33 deaths and injured hundreds.
Five days earlier, bomb attacks on two synagogues in Istanbul killed 23 people and wounded more than 300.