2020 İskenderun shootout

The 2020 İskenderun shootout took place on 26 October 2020, when two Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants fought the police in İskenderun, resulting in one of them being shot dead and the other one detonating explosives and killing himself.

2020 İskenderun shootout
Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015-present)
Location İskenderun, Hatay Province, Turkey
Date26 October 2020 (26 October 2020)
21:00 (EEST)
Attack type
Shootout
Suicide bombing
Deaths0 (+2 perpetrators)
Injured3
Perpetrators Kurdistan Workers' Party

Background
See also: Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)

İskenderun is a city in Turkey located in the Hatay Province. It is the second largest city in the province after Antakya, and is a port city located on the Mediterranean Sea.[1]

The conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States,[2] the European Union[3] and NATO[4]) has been active since 1984, primarily in the southeast of the country. More than 40,000 people have died as a result of the conflict.[5][6][7]

Bombing

On 26 October 2020, police forces wanted to stop a suspicious vehicle in Kozludere neighbourhood of Payas. 2 members of the PKK refused to stop as the police intended to control the vehicle, opened fire against the officers and tried to escape. Their car crashed when they were trying to escape, therefore they seized a civilian car and moved to İskenderun. They were caught by police in İskenderun and ambushed by them. One of them was shot dead, while the other one detonated the bomb on him, causing his death and injuring a police officer. The attack came days after the United States Embassy in Ankara warned of terrorist attacks and kidnappings against U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals.[8][9][10][11]

Aftermath
Deployment of police forces in region after the bombing

The Fener street, in which incident took place was closed to traffic after the incident.[12] Many police forces and medical teams were stationed in region.[1]

Damage

The injured police officer was taken to a hospital and by 30 October his health situation was good.[11] Windows of the houses and workplaces near were broken and several cars including a police car was damaged as a result of the explosion. Because of the broken windows, 2 civilians were injured.[13][14]

Investigation

An abandoned car near the crime scene was investigated and tracked by police. As a result, on 28 October, 5 people from Istanbul, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman and Diyarbakır were arrested related to the attack,[15][16] which the Turkish authorities blamed on the PKK.[8] The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack 3 days after the bombing, and said that Turkish media reports of the incident included “disinformation“ but did not elaborate further.[17]

Reactions
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Twitter
@RTErdogan

Turkish: Hatay’da gerçekleştirdikleri başarılı terörle mücadele operasyonu nedeniyle kahraman güvenlik güçlerimizi tebrik ediyorum. Tüm Hataylı kardeşlerime geçmiş olsun temennilerimi iletiyorum. Rabbim ülkemizi her türlü saldırıdan, felaketten, hain emellerden korusun.

I congratulate our heroic security forces for the successful counter-terrorism operation they performed in Hatay. I am forwarding my wishes for them to get well to all my brothers from Hatay. May my God protect our country from all kinds of attacks, disasters and treacherous goals.

26 October 2020[18]

People living on the houses around the explosion scene reacted to the attack by hanging flags on their balconies.[19]

The police announced that "they will not allow traitors who want to divide their nation and country" as a response to the attack.[20]

Governor of Hatay Rahmi Doğan announced that there are no losses of life while there are several injured, none of them being in a life-threatening condition.[20]

Other Turkish politicians including Fuat Oktay,[21] Abdulhamit Gül[22] and Mustafa Şentop[23] also condemned the attack.

See also

References
  1. "SON DAKİKA: Hatay'da korkutan patlama yaşandı! Hatay patlamasının nedeni ne, İskenderun nerede?". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  2. "U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Counterterrorism: Foreign Terrorist Organizations". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  3. "Council of the European Union: Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/1341 of 8 August 2019 updating the list of persons, groups and entities subject to Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism". Official Journal of the European Union. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  4. "PKK". Republic of Turkey: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  5. Timeline: Kurdish militant group PKK's three-decade war with Turkey, Reuters, 21 March 2013
  6. Reuters (10 January 2016). "Turkish forces kill 32 Kurdish militants in bloody weekend as conflict escalates". The Guardian.
  7. "Turkey's PKK peace plan delayed". BBC. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  8. "Turkish police detain five people over alleged involvement in suicide bombing in Hatay". www.duvarenglish.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  9. "Explosion in Hatay province". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  10. "Turkey: Explosion in downtown Iskenderun". iranpress.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  11. "Son dakika! Hatay'ın İskenderun ilçesinde patlama - Sayfa 9". CNN Türk (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  12. Ajansı, İlke Haber. "Huge explosion takes place in Turkey's southern city of Hatay". İLKHA (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  13. AA-DHA-İHA. "Son dakika haberler... Hatay'ın İskenderun ilçesinde patlama! Bakan Soylu duyurdu: İkisi de etkisiz hale getirildi". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  14. "'PKK suicide bombing' in southern Turkey". The National. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  15. Şafak, Yeni (2020-10-28). "Hatay haberleri: Hatay'daki patlamayla ilgili 5 kişi gözaltına alındı". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  16. iha.com.tr. "Hatay'daki patlama ve çatışmaya 5 gözaltı". İhlas Haber Ajansı (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  17. "PKK claims responsibility for explosion in Turkey's Hatay province". www.rudaw.net. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  18. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan [@RTErdogan] (26 October 2020). "Hatay'da gerçekleştirdikleri başarılı terörle mücadele operasyonu nedeniyle kahraman güvenlik güçlerimizi tebrik ediyorum. Tüm Hataylı kardeşlerime geçmiş olsun temennilerimi iletiyorum. Rabbim ülkemizi her türlü saldırıdan, felaketten, hain emellerden korusun" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. "Hatay'da hain saldırıya halk bayrak asarak tepki gösterdi!". Günboyu Gazetesi (in Turkish). 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  20. "Hatay'da patlama meydana geldi". www.haberturk.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  21. AA. "Cumhurbaşkanı Yardımcısı Oktay'dan Hatay'daki terör eylemiyle ilgili paylaşım". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  22. "Son dakika gündem: Adalet Bakanı Gül'den Hatay'daki terör eylemiyle ilgili açıklama Açıklaması - Son Dakika". Sondakika.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  23. Haber7. "TBMM Başkanı Şentop: 'Teröre geçit vermeyeceğiz'". Haber7 (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-30.

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