Four of the injured sustained heavy injuries, governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters here.

He added that the car bomb was set off by remote control as a military vehicle was passing on a road in the city centre, some 100 metres (yards) from a military base and billets.

The NTV news channel reported that the dead could be high school students attending private lessons at a building close to the blast site.

The injured included both soldiers and civilians, the sources said.