Post by ferryfast admin on Nov 12, 2011 10:54:58 GMT -5
Turkish Passenger Ferry Is Hijacked
NOVEMBER 12, 2011, 2:26 A.M.
By MARC CHAMPION
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203537304577032322168736642.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
ISTANBUL–Turkish commandos stormed a hijacked sea ferry in Western Turkey and shot dead the lone hijacker, members of an outlawed Kurdish militant group, authorities said.
The hijacker was killed shortly after the operation began at 5:35 a.m., but none of the 18 passengers and six crew were hurt, Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu said, according to the state Anadolu Ajansi news agency.
Mr. Multu also said it was clear the assailant was "a terror group member" and that he was carrying a device with electrical cables that was being examined.
The hijacker had seized the captain of the 17:45 "Kartepe" fast ferry from Izmit, on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Istanbul on Friday evening. Regional officials said the hijacker was claiming to be a member of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, and to have a bomb.
There was initial confusion about the number of assailants on the ferry, with Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim saying there were four to five.
By late Friday, the ferry passed below Istanbul and stopped about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the city as it ran out of fuel. The hijacker asked for more fuel, food and repair tools, but officials said he made no political demands.
Turkish media quickly speculated that the hijacker might want to take the ferry to the island of Imrali, also in the Marmara Sea, where the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, has been held in a high security jail since 1999.
Turkey is in the midst of a major military campaign in the east of the country and across the border in Northern Iraq aimed at wiping out the PKK, re-escalating a nearly three-decade-long conflict estimated to have cost at least 30,000 lives. In a recent statement, the PKK acknowledged that 66 of its operatives were killed in the month of October.
The PKK launched the conflict in 1984, demanding an independent Kurdish state that would join ethnic Kurds in Turkey—where they make up close to 20% of the population—to those living in Iraq, Iran and Syria. In recent years the PKK scaled back its demands, limiting them to greater autonomy within Turkey, Kurdish language schools and the release of Mr. Ocalan.
The ferry hijacking would be a new departure for PKK tactics. Most recent PKK attacks have been directed at Turkish military and police, though with significant civilian casualties. A PKK splinter group also has carried out terrorist attacks aimed specifically at civilians. This week, the PKK also hacked the website of the Turkish Finance Ministry.
—Yeliz Candemir contributed to this article.
NOVEMBER 12, 2011, 2:26 A.M.
By MARC CHAMPION
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203537304577032322168736642.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
ISTANBUL–Turkish commandos stormed a hijacked sea ferry in Western Turkey and shot dead the lone hijacker, members of an outlawed Kurdish militant group, authorities said.
The hijacker was killed shortly after the operation began at 5:35 a.m., but none of the 18 passengers and six crew were hurt, Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu said, according to the state Anadolu Ajansi news agency.
Mr. Multu also said it was clear the assailant was "a terror group member" and that he was carrying a device with electrical cables that was being examined.
The hijacker had seized the captain of the 17:45 "Kartepe" fast ferry from Izmit, on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Istanbul on Friday evening. Regional officials said the hijacker was claiming to be a member of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, and to have a bomb.
There was initial confusion about the number of assailants on the ferry, with Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim saying there were four to five.
By late Friday, the ferry passed below Istanbul and stopped about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the city as it ran out of fuel. The hijacker asked for more fuel, food and repair tools, but officials said he made no political demands.
Turkish media quickly speculated that the hijacker might want to take the ferry to the island of Imrali, also in the Marmara Sea, where the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, has been held in a high security jail since 1999.
Turkey is in the midst of a major military campaign in the east of the country and across the border in Northern Iraq aimed at wiping out the PKK, re-escalating a nearly three-decade-long conflict estimated to have cost at least 30,000 lives. In a recent statement, the PKK acknowledged that 66 of its operatives were killed in the month of October.
The PKK launched the conflict in 1984, demanding an independent Kurdish state that would join ethnic Kurds in Turkey—where they make up close to 20% of the population—to those living in Iraq, Iran and Syria. In recent years the PKK scaled back its demands, limiting them to greater autonomy within Turkey, Kurdish language schools and the release of Mr. Ocalan.
The ferry hijacking would be a new departure for PKK tactics. Most recent PKK attacks have been directed at Turkish military and police, though with significant civilian casualties. A PKK splinter group also has carried out terrorist attacks aimed specifically at civilians. This week, the PKK also hacked the website of the Turkish Finance Ministry.
—Yeliz Candemir contributed to this article.