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Hijacked Turkish ferry liberated by special forces operation

Türkiye Materials 12 November 2011 08:47 (UTC +04:00)
"Kartepe" ferry that was hijacked Friday night in Turkey has been liberated in a special forces operation, CNN Turk channel reported Saturday morning.
Hijacked Turkish ferry liberated by special forces operation

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 12 / Trend /

"Kartepe" ferry that was hijacked Friday night in Turkey has been liberated in a special forces operation, CNN Turk channel reported Saturday morning.

Hijacker acted alone. During the operation, the terrorist was killed. He was about 28-30 years.

"Kartepe" was travelling between İzmit and Gölcük in the Gulf of İzmit when it was hijacked around 5.45 pm (1545 GMT). The assailants said they were acting on behalf of a wing of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) but did not say what they want, Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım told private broadcaster NTV.

Earlier reports said the assailants wanted access to media.

There were 18 passengers and 6 crew on the ferry, according to Yıldırım, who said the authorities were able to contact captain of the ship. The terrorist who is with the captain says he carries a bomb, the minister also said.

Coastguard vessels are trecking the ferry as it "draws zigzags" in the Sea of Marmara, east of İstanbul, Yıldırım said.

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