Gunmen in Turkey Kill 44 at Wedding
source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/world/europe/06turkey.html?ref=world
In a gruesome massacre, more than 40 people, including many women and children, were killed late Monday when masked assailants attacked a wedding party in southeastern Turkey, the semi-official Anatolian News Agency reported.
The Interior Ministry said police captured eight gunmen along with their weapons after an intense security operation in the region near the city of Mardin. The dead included six children, 16 women and 22 men.
Observing Muslim practice, many of the men had gathered for evening prayers when the attackers opened fire in the village of Bilge, 15 miles from Mardin, a witness told the private NTV television network.
A report from the Haberturk news agency quoted witnesses as saying the attackers herded party-goers into one room and opened fire.
Preliminary investigations pointed to a possible feud between two families in the village, Interior Minister Besir Atalay said before heading for Mardin with Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin.
But Mr. Atalay declined to call the attack a blood feud — a phenomenon in Turkey’s southeast region which usually involves exacting vengeance for the murder of a relative by killing a male member of the murderer’s family. Such feuds have cost many lives in the past.
The Interior Ministry said police captured eight gunmen along with their weapons after an intense security operation in the region near the city of Mardin. The dead included six children, 16 women and 22 men.
Observing Muslim practice, many of the men had gathered for evening prayers when the attackers opened fire in the village of Bilge, 15 miles from Mardin, a witness told the private NTV television network.
A report from the Haberturk news agency quoted witnesses as saying the attackers herded party-goers into one room and opened fire.
Preliminary investigations pointed to a possible feud between two families in the village, Interior Minister Besir Atalay said before heading for Mardin with Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin.
But Mr. Atalay declined to call the attack a blood feud — a phenomenon in Turkey’s southeast region which usually involves exacting vengeance for the murder of a relative by killing a male member of the murderer’s family. Such feuds have cost many lives in the past.
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