Ten people have been wounded in an explosion that badly damaged a police bus in Istanbul, Turkey, police say.

The blast, reportedly a bomb, happened near the offices of the ruling Justice and Development party.

Five of the wounded were police officers who had been on duty at a nearby business association building.

Istanbul police chief Huseyin Capkin said the explosion had been detonated by remote control.

“It appears that it [the bomb] went off as a police vehicle with 21 officers inside passed by,” Huseyin Capkin said.

None of the injuries was said to be serious.

Witnesses told Turkish TV that the explosives may have been carried on a motorcycle.

Forensic teams began searching the scene shortly afterwards. No group has admitted carrying out the attack although TV reports linked the blast to an attack on a bus stop last year in which eight people were hurt.

Kurdish rebels were blamed for that blast.