Hakan
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ISTANBUL--Turkish security forces were attacked Thursday by gunmen at a roadblock in southern Turkey, leaving three people killed, including a policeman and a soldier, in an assault officials have labeled a terrorist attack.
A brief clash erupted at a routine road check in the Nigde-Adana highway, with three suspects opening fire from inside a pickup truck as officials tried to halt the vehicle, officials told state-run Anadolu news agency. The suspects also killed the driver of a truck they abducted to flee the scene, officials said. Two of the suspects were arrested shortly afterward, in a health center seeking medical care, while the third was still on the run late Thursday, officials told Anadolu.
The governor of Nigde, Necmeddin Kilic, said after the assault that attackers were foreign nationals carrying weapons, including hand grenades, Kalashnikovs and a bazooka, as well as satellite phones in their rucksacks.
Interior Minister Efkan Ala said late Thursday the suspects were "foreign nationals of Western countries," while the press and some officials suspected the incident was linked to the civil war in Syria. Mr. Ala said the public will be informed about the suspects' nationalities.
Speaking in the western city of Sakarya, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the incident "a lowly terrorist operation," without elaborating or naming a group.
Government officials and ministers said the incident may have been linked to elections scheduled to be held March 30, widely seen as a referendum over the decadelong rule of Mr. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party.
"It is clear that there are some people who are trying to sabotage the elections...This clearly isn't an act [linked] to terrorism inside Turkey but from outside the country, with the purpose of infiltrate into Turkey to poison the atmosphere before elections," said Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, while press reports speculated that the incident may have been linked to the civil war in Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu echoed the claim that the incident was likely a provocation ahead of elections.
Gunmen Attack Turkish Security Forces -- Update - WSJ.com
Three killed after armed attack against gendarmerie control point in central Turkey - LOCAL
A brief clash erupted at a routine road check in the Nigde-Adana highway, with three suspects opening fire from inside a pickup truck as officials tried to halt the vehicle, officials told state-run Anadolu news agency. The suspects also killed the driver of a truck they abducted to flee the scene, officials said. Two of the suspects were arrested shortly afterward, in a health center seeking medical care, while the third was still on the run late Thursday, officials told Anadolu.
The governor of Nigde, Necmeddin Kilic, said after the assault that attackers were foreign nationals carrying weapons, including hand grenades, Kalashnikovs and a bazooka, as well as satellite phones in their rucksacks.
Interior Minister Efkan Ala said late Thursday the suspects were "foreign nationals of Western countries," while the press and some officials suspected the incident was linked to the civil war in Syria. Mr. Ala said the public will be informed about the suspects' nationalities.
Speaking in the western city of Sakarya, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the incident "a lowly terrorist operation," without elaborating or naming a group.
Government officials and ministers said the incident may have been linked to elections scheduled to be held March 30, widely seen as a referendum over the decadelong rule of Mr. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party.
"It is clear that there are some people who are trying to sabotage the elections...This clearly isn't an act [linked] to terrorism inside Turkey but from outside the country, with the purpose of infiltrate into Turkey to poison the atmosphere before elections," said Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, while press reports speculated that the incident may have been linked to the civil war in Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu echoed the claim that the incident was likely a provocation ahead of elections.
Gunmen Attack Turkish Security Forces -- Update - WSJ.com
Three killed after armed attack against gendarmerie control point in central Turkey - LOCAL
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