ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A bomb exploded as a bus carrying police was passing by in a southern Turkish city on Tuesday, wounding a dozen officers, officials said.

The blast occurred on a main road in the Mediterranean coastal city of Mersin, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Mersin chief prosecutor told Anadolu that at least 12 officers were wounded in the attack. Three prosecutors were assigned to investigate, he told Anadolu.

Several police officers, ambulances and firefighters were sent to the scene, the agency reported earlier.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a three-decade long insurgency in southeast Turkey, has targeted police in similar attacks in the past. The group is designated as a terror organization by Turkey and its allies.

Left-wing militants and members of the Islamic State group have also carried out deadly attacks in the country.