Suicide bomber targets border town, no casualties

HATAY

A suicide bomber targeted an avenue in the southern province of Hatay’s İskenderun district near the border with Syria on Oct. 26, killing himself.

The explosion has hit the town’s Fener Street, which was closed to traffic after the incident.

Ambulances and police squads were dispatched to the area, while Hatay Governor Rahmi Doğan said that there were no civilian or military casualties in the incident.

He said one of the terrorists detonated himself whom security forces had pursued.

The second one also was killed at the end of the police chase, Doğan noted.

Terrorists were identified by authorities at a security checkpoint in Hatay’s Payas district, Doğan added.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu released a statement later on Oct. 27, saying that both terrorists have been killed by security forces.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated security forces for conducting an anti-terror operation in Hatay province in which they eliminated two members of the PKK terrorist organization.

“I congratulate our heroic security forces for their successful counter-terrorism operation in Hatay. I wish [it] to all my Hatay brothers and sisters. May God protect our country from all kinds of attacks, disasters and treacherous aspirations,” Erdoğan said on Twitter.

“Turkey is no longer a country that can be designed, directed and occupied with such attacks. With God’s permission and our security forces’ efforts, we will continue our struggle against terrorism and its supporters within and beyond our borders,” he added.