"The preliminary investigation established that the blast occurred while the home-made remote-control device, planted in a flask, was being carried" to another location, the office of the local governor said in a statement.

It give no details about the intended target of the attack and who the perpetrators were.

A major complex housing various police units is located about one kilometer (less than a mile) from the spot, where the bomb went off Tuesday evening.

Police have said that initial suspicions fell on separatist Kurdish rebels, who have claimed a string of deadly bombings across Turkey this year.

Seven of the 10 victims were children.

Diyarbakir is a hotbed of activity of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has a solid base in the city, the largest in the predominantly Kurdish southeast.