AKIPRESS.COM - Two people were killed in an explosion Thursday near a courthouse in the city of Izmir in western Turkey, according to the country's state-run Anadolu news agency, CNN reported.

A police officer and a courthouse staff member died in the attack, the agency said. Nine people were hospitalized with injuries, said Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

Police killed two assailants, according to Izmir Gov. Erol Ayyildiz, who blamed the militant Kurdistan Worker's Party or PKK, for the attack.

So far, there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

On Thursday, police had stopped a suspicious vehicle at a checkpoint in front of the courthouse, which led to an armed clash between attackers and security forces, Ayyildiz said. During the clash, the attackers "detonated a car bomb as they tried to escape," he told reporters.

The attackers were armed with Kalashnikov rifles and grenades, Ayyildiz said.