Gas cylinder bomb caused blast at Turkish election rally

ISTANBUL - A gas cylinder bomb packed with ball bearings caused one of two blasts that ripped through a Kurdish rally in Turkey on Friday, killing two people and injuring more than 100 ahead of Sunday's parliamentary election, Dogan news agency said on Saturday.

The blasts, which President Tayyip Erdogan described as a"provocation" designed to undermine peace, occurred as thousands gathered for a pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) rally in Diyarbakir, mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey's largest city.

Dogan cited officials as saying metal parts from the device were gathered as evidence under the supervision of prosecutors at the site of the blasts. It said no suspects have so far been identified but security camera video was being studied.

Tensions have run high in Turkey as the HDP aims to overcome a 10 percent vote threshold to enter parlaiment, with some opinion polls showing it could seize enough seats to deprive the long-ruling AK Party of the majority it has enjoyed since sweeping to power in 2002.