|
Turkish soldiers arrested in probe into
bomb attack
29.11.2005
|
|
|
|
ANKARA, Nov 29 (AFP)
- 11h49 - Turkish authorities have arrested two
soldiers in a high-profile probe into a bomb attack
widely blamed on members of the security forces in
the country's mainly Kurdish southeast, Anatolia
news agency reported Tuesday.
The arrest of Ali Kaya and Ozcan Ildeniz brings to
four the number of suspects in custody after the
November 9 bombing of a bookstore owned by a former
Kurdish guerrilla in the town of Semdinli, Hakkari
province.
Both are gendarmes, members of military units that
police rural areas.
An angry crowd almost lynched Kaya, Ildeniz and a
third person after the attack on the bookstore,
which killed one person.
The third man, who reportedly threw the bomb, was
identified as a former Kurdish guerrilla turned
informer and was arrested immediately after the
incident.
Weapons, hand grenades, a sketch of the shop and a
list of people, including its owner, were found in a
car in which the three tried to escape after the
blast.
A third gendarme officer was arrested for shooting
at the crowd and killing another person in the
unrest.
The incident triggered deadly riots across Hakkari
and proved a serious political embarrassment for the
government at a time when it is under pressure to
demonstrate its commitment to democracy and the rule
of law in its bid to join the European Union.
The authorities had drawn criticism particularly for
failing to arrest Kaya and Ildeniz immediately after
the blast.
The bombing raised questions over whether Turkey has
suceeded in purging rogue elements from the security
forces accused of summary executions, extortion,
kidnappings and drug-smuggling in the southeast
during the early 1990s, the peak years of a
separatist Kurdish rebellion.
The conflict has claimed some 37,000 lives since the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed group
considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the
EU and the United States, took up arms for Kurdish
self-rule in the region in
AFP
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 