Gunmen arrested after taking hostage at Burger King
Two men reported to be soldiers and wearing T-shirts with “Turkey” written on them took a hostage at a popular Burger King restaurant in Istanbul today and then released him after negotiations with police.
Police said the two men were in custody. No injuries were reported in the incident.
Istanbul Chief of Police Celalettin Cerrah said both hostage-takers were soldiers who were absent without leave. He said they were protesting over clashes between Kurds and security forces in the south-east and that the guns they brandished fired blanks.
“They carried an action like this out because they were very affected by the events in the south-east,” Cerrah said. Seven Turkish soldiers have been killed in the past few days, and 16 civilians have died over more than a week of clashes.
Both hostage-takers appeared to be in their teens or early 20s. Military service is mandatory in Turkey.
Television footage showed a handful of armed men who appeared to be security or police get hold of one of the hostage takers on the roof, where he had been running around with a gun to his head and shouting.
Cheers rose from the crowd of onlookers as the security men held on to him.
The hostage, who at one point had a gun held to his head, was released and was in good condition, police said.
Earlier, one of the hostage takers could be seen waving a gun, grabbing his shirt and yelling, “I want to be a martyr!”
Predominantly Kurdish south-eastern Turkey has been the scene of violent clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish protesters for more than a week.
On Saturday, two Turkish soldiers were killed by land mines believed to have been placed by Kurdish rebels.
Five other soldiers were killed just days before.
The clashes, in which Kurds have taken to the streets and attacked security forces in violent riots, have also led to 16 civilian deaths, and Kurdish militant groups vowing revenge have claimed two bombings in Istanbul in the past week.
