Izmir attack on January 5, 2017

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When attack in Izmir on January 5, 2017 it came before a court building in the district Bayraklı to a gunfight and explosion of a car bomb , which killed two people and five others were injured. Two assassins were shot dead by the police. The Turkish government blames the PKK for the attack.

procedure

According to Izmir's governor Erol Ayyıldız, at least two men tried to get their vehicle into a parking lot reserved for judicial staff by the courthouse, which was denied them by security staff at a checkpoint at the driveway. The two men then got out and moved away from the vehicle, opening fire from assault rifles on the security forces. Shortly afterwards, the car bomb exploded. The explosion was recorded by surveillance cameras and the exchange of fire was also recorded by several eyewitnesses. The two attackers were shot dead by police not far from the site of the explosion.

Police officer Fethi Sekin and a court employee were killed and five people injured in the attack. Fethi Sekin was killed in an exchange of fire with the attackers after preventing them from entering the parking lot and shooting one of the perpetrators. According to Vice Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak, the attackers were equipped for a major attack and likely caused a massacre in the courthouse. In addition to two Kalashnikov type assault rifles , the attackers were also armed with handguns, hand grenades and a RPG-7 bazooka with several grenades.

Assassin

The two attackers killed were identified as Mustafa Çoban (* 1987) and Enes Yıldırım (* 1991). Both were members of the Freedom Falcons Kurdistan (TAK), which was confirmed by this organization. The Turkish government does not describe the TAK as an independent organization, but as the terrorist arm of the PKK.

The father of one of the bombers reported that his son had completed a degree in mathematics, joined the terrorist organization five years ago and had broken off contact with the family. The body was handed over to the family amid sacks of coal because all funeral homes had refused to transfer the remains.

Reactions

After the attack, the courthouse was evacuated and a suspicious vehicle was blown up in a controlled manner. It is said to have been a possible escape vehicle for the attackers. An initially reported search for a third perpetrator was not confirmed by the authorities. The government imposed a news blackout.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım highlighted Fethi Sekin's commitment . The street in front of the courthouse and a large amusement park in Izmir were named after him. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ announced that the PKK was behind the attack and announced the arrest of 18 suspects.

After the bomb attack in Izmir, the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier promised Turkey that Germany would support it in the fight against terrorism and praised the Turkish security forces for their efforts. Johannes Hahn , Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy , condemned the attack and declared the EU's solidarity with the people of Turkey. Further expressions of solidarity and condolences came from the embassies of Great Britain , Australia and the USA .

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