| 2020 İskenderun shootout | |
|---|---|
| Part of theKurdish–Turkish conflict (2015-present) | |
| Location |  İskenderun,Hatay Province,Turkey |
| Date | 26 October 2020 (2020-10-26) 21:00 (EEST) |
Attack type | Shootout Suicide bombing |
| Deaths | 2 (two attackers) |
| Injured | 3 |
| Perpetrators |  Kurdistan Workers' Party |
The2020 İskenderun shootout took place on 26 October 2020, when twoKurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants fought thepolice inİskenderun, resulting in one of them being shot dead and the other onedetonating explosives and killing himself.
İskenderun is a city in Turkey located in theHatay Province. It is the second largest city in the province afterAntakya, and is a port city located on theMediterranean Sea.[1]
Theconflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (designated aterrorist organisation by Turkey, theUnited States,[2] theEuropean Union[3] andNATO[4]) has been active since 1984, primarily in the southeast of the country. More than 40,000 people have died as a result of the conflict.[5][6][7]
On 26 October 2020, police forces wanted to stop a suspicious vehicle inKozludere neighbourhood ofPayas. 2 members of the PKK refused to stop as the police intended to control the vehicle, opened fire against the officers and tried to escape. Their car crashed when they were trying to escape, therefore they seized acivilian car and moved toİskenderun. They were caught by police in İskenderun and ambushed by them. One of them was shot dead, while the other one detonated the bomb on him, causing his death and injuring a police officer. The attack came days after theUnited StatesEmbassy inAnkara warned ofterrorist attacks andkidnappings against U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals.[8][9][10][11]
The Fener street, in which incident took place was closed to traffic after the incident.[12] Many police forces and medical teams were stationed in region.[1]
The injured police officer was taken to a hospital and by 30 October his health situation was good.[11] Windows of the houses and workplaces near were broken and several cars including a police car was damaged as a result of the explosion. Because of the broken windows, 2 civilians were injured.[13][14]
An abandoned car near the crime scene was investigated and tracked by police. As a result, on 28 October, 5 people fromIstanbul,Şanlıurfa,Adıyaman andDiyarbakır were arrested related to the attack,[15][16] which the Turkish authorities blamed on the PKK.[8] The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack 3 days after the bombing, and said that Turkish media reports of the incident included “disinformation“ but did not elaborate further.[17]
People living on the houses around the explosion scene reacted to the attack by hanging flags on their balconies.[18]
The police announced that "they will not allow traitors who want to divide their nation and country" as a response to the attack.[19]
Governor of Hatay Rahmi Doğan announced that there are no losses of life while there are several injured, none of them being in a life-threatening condition.[19]
Other Turkish politicians includingFuat Oktay,[20]Abdulhamit Gül[21] andMustafa Şentop[22] also condemned the attack.
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