Top Kurdish lawyer killed in Turkey

A top Kurdish lawyer was killed on Saturday when unidentified gunmen opened fire at a gathering in southeastern Turkey.

According to state-run Dogan News Agency, Tahir Elci, head of the Bar Association in Turkey's Diyarbakir province, and a number of activists were giving a press statement in Sur district when the gunmen opened fire at them.

Elci died of gunshot wounds to the head, while a policeman was also killed in the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.

Elci had been criticised in Turkey for not terming the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) a terrorist organisation.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.