Ferry hijacked in western Turkey

[Bosonic]

Source: BBC

A passenger ferry has been hijacked in north-west Turkey, media reports say.

Turkey's NTV channel said the ferry, named Kartepe, was travelling in the Gulf of Izmit.

One report said five hijackers had overpowered the ferry's captain, but the mayor of a nearby town told the TV there was only one hijacker claiming to have a bomb.

Izmit is a port in the Sea of Marmara, about 100km (60 miles) east of Istanbul.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15701025

[Poll_Blind]

1. PKK? nt

PB

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. One report points that way:

It was unclear who was behind the hijacking but broadcaster NTV reported a claim that an assailant said he was a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1874339/World.News/Passenger.ferry.hijacked.in.northwest.Turkey

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Turkish forces shoot dead lone hijacker

The lone hijacker was killed minutes after navy commandos and anti-terror police slipped aboard the high-speed ferry near Istanbul just before sunrise on Saturday morning, ending a 12-hour hostage drama.

"There was no chance left we'd capture him alive. The long phone calls to persuade him (to surrender) failed," the interior minister, Idris Sahin, told NTV news channel.

Sahin said 450g (15 ounces) of plastic explosive were found on the body of the hijacker, named as Mensur Guzel.

The minister said Guzel was a member of "the terrorist organisation" – a reference to the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/12/turkey-ferry-hijack-hostages

A lone hijacker is always likely to be overpowered. But you have to wonder if they couldn't have waited for him to fall asleep (unless he'd made clear he'd detonate the explosives before that might ever have happened).