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France: Car slams into soldiers in Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, six injured

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French police were hunting for a driver who slammed his car into a group of soldiers in a Paris suburb, injuring six. The authorities launched a terror probe into the “attempted killings.”

The vehicle, a dark BMW car, hit the soldiers at Place de Verdun in Levallois-Perret at the northwestern edge of Paris on Wednesday at about 8:00 a.m. local time (0600 UTC). Police say the driver is on the run.

The mayor of Levallois-Perret, Patrick Balkany, told French television network BFMTV that the act was “odious” and “without a doubt deliberate.” He also said that the car appeared to have waited in a nearby alleyway until the soldiers emerged from their barracks to start their patrol.

“The vehicle did not stop. It hurtled at them … it accelerated rapidly,” he told broadcaster BFM TV.

The attacker apparently targeted members of the Sentinelle security force, which was created after Islamist attacks in 2015. Six soldiers were injured in the hit-and-run, three of them seriously. French defense ministry said that their lives were not in danger.

The prosecutors launched a probe into “attempted killings… in relation to a terrorist undertaking.”

The incident comes four days after a teenager with psychiatric problems tried to attack security forces guarding the Eiffel Tower, shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest). Several other extremists also attacked security forces in Paris earlier this year.

ng/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters)

İzmir Turkey At least 3 wounded in car bomb attack

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A car bomb attack in the Agean province of İzmir near the courthouse left at least three people wounded on January 5, Hurriyet Daily News reports, citing Doğan News Agency.
According to state-run Anadolu Agency, three militants also entered into an armed clash with police, two of whom were later killed.

 

The agency said a car was burning car at the scene. A reporter for Doğan News Agency said the attack occurred at the entrance for judges and prosecutors.

A number of ambulances were dispatched to the scene.
A temporary gag order was also issued on the attack.

The attack marked the second in just the first five days of 2017, as the country was rocked by a series of terror attacks last year.

A gunman opened fire on New Year revelers at a packed nightclub on the shores of Istanbul’s Bosporus on Jan. 1 killing at least 39 people, including many foreigners, before fleeing the scene.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had claimed responsibility for the attack.

In December, 2016,  two bombs placed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants exploded outside a football stadium in central Istanbul, killing 44 people.

On December 17, 2016, a car bomb by the PKK killed at least 13 soldiers and wounded 56 when it ripped through a bus carrying off-duty soldiers in the central city of Kayseri

Three killed in PKK car bomb attack in Turkey’s Diyarbakır & 25 people, including eight police in Murat Uçar

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deadly-bomb

AA photo

Two police officers and a child were killed in an  Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) car bomb attack targeting a traffic police station in the Şükürlü village located between the Çınar and the Bismil districts of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Aug. 15, the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office has announced.

The governor’s office also said in a statement that 25 people, including eight police officers, were wounded in the attack targeting the Murat Uçar Regional Traffic Inspection Station at around 1 p.m.

The wounded were transferred to nearby hospitals.

The blast also created a hole with a depth of five meters in the road, which was closed to traffic.

Meanwhile, security forces conducted an operation in the region to apprehend the militants responsible for the blast.

August/15/2016

Just last week, 12 people were killed in a series of attacks targeting Turkish police and soldiers.

ksb/se (AP, AFP, Reuters)

Iran, France agree to launch joint car production venture

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car manufacturingIran’s major car manufacturer Iran Khodro and French car manufacturer Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) agreed to launch a joint company in Tehran for car production, Xinhua News reports, citing Tasnim news agency.
The 50-50 joint venture, if finalized, would be worth 400 million euros, the report said.
The company to be established will manufacture the Peugeot 208, the 2008 Sport Utility Vehicle, as well as the 301 compact.
Thirty percent of the cars which are to be jointly produced, will be exported to the Middle East and other countries, Iran Khodro’s Chief Executive Officer, Hashem Yeke Zareh, was quoted as saying.
Owing to the U.S.-led sanctions against Iran regarding the latter’s disputed nuclear issue, PSA had left Iran in 2012.

So called Free Syrian Army commander’s car explodes in southeastern Turkey

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HATAY – Doğan News Agency

HATAY'DA YASAYAN . FOTO: RAMAZAN CELIK/HATAY, (DHA)

HATAY’DA YASAYAN . FOTO: RAMAZAN CELIK/HATAY, (DHA)

A bomb placed in the car of a Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander has detonated in southeastern Turkey, while the commander is being treated for heavy injuries.

An FSA commander identified as Cemil Radon was severely wounded when his car exploded at midday on Aug. 26 in Hatay province, on Turkey’s border with Syria.

The bomb detonated when the commander tried to start the car parked in front of his house in Antakya, where Radon had been residing.

Police teams and fire squads were dispatched to the area as security measures were tightened.

Meanwhile, Radon was immediately transferred to the emergency department of Antakya State Hospital via an ambulance. Reports indicated Radon’s condition remains critical.

Daily Hürriyet reported Radon had been targeted by a similar attack in Hatay’s Reyhanlı district, where a bomb placed under his car detonated.

Luxury car purchased for Turkey’s top Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet)

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Nurettin Kurt – ISTANBUL

n_75582_1A luxury vehicle has been purchased to serve as the official car of Turkey’s top cleric, Hürriyet has learned.

Mehmet Görmez, the head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), will soon start using the Mercedes S500 sedan, which is worth 1 million Turkish Liras ($435,000). Moreover, 14 Toyota cars were bought for the Diyanet’s general directors, as well as 16 minibuses to serve the organization.

The institution announced Dec. 13 that the purchases were made from the coffers of the state, not by using citizens’ private donations for the Diyanet Foundation.

“All the vehicles mentioned in the news report were purchased through tenders conducted by the State Supply Office under the permissions granted by the Law of The Central Government’s 2014 Budget and within the knowledge of the Finance Ministry,” the Diyanet said in a written statement.

Turkey’s top religious office also said that the cost of the luxury car allotted for Görmez is “much lower,” without releasing the actual figure in the official documents.

Görmez was featured in international media when he met Pope Francis, who paid a historic visit to Turkey late last month. It was reported that Turkish authorities had refused the pope’s request for “a humble car” in Ankara on the grounds of security. In Istanbul, however, the pontiff had surprised many journalists by arriving in a “humble car” with a civilian traffic license plate.

December/13/2014

Turkish mayor says 5 wounded in attack on his car after Erdoğan rally

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TODAYSZAMAN

Five people, including three police officers, were wounded in southeastern Turkey, a pro-government mayor said on Monday, when suspected Kurdish militants attacked his car as he southeastern Turkey-car-attacreturned from a presidential campaign rally for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Ceylanpınar Mayor Menderes Atilla said a car bomb detonated as his car drove through the town of Ceylanpınar in Şanlıurfa province late on Sunday, injuring the policemen. The attackers then opened fire, causing minor injuries to his driver and a bodyguard.

“There was a blast from a car loaded with explosives… as I was returning from the prime minister’s rally. We came under fire from another car by gunmen using long-barreled weapons. The gunmen’s car left the scene after firing a few rounds,” Atilla told reporters, adding that he believed terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were behind the ambush.

There has been no word from the PKK since the attack, but if their involvement is confirmed it would be a blow to efforts aimed at bringing an end to a 30-year insurgency that has haunted the Southeast and left an estimated 40,000 people dead.

Only last week, Parliament passed a bill that for the first time legally recognizes the government’s negotiations to bring a permanent halt to hostilities with PKK terrorists, who have for decades been demanding greater autonomy and rights from Ankara.

Erdoğan is campaigning to become Turkey’s first directly elected president in the Aug. 10 election, a position that could give him stronger executive powers to pursue his political plans. He hopes his efforts to end the insurgency will earn him significant support from Turkey’s Kurdish minority.

Şanlıurfa province could be a key electoral battleground in the coming weeks. Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) narrowly won local polls there in March, but the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) contested the result, stirring a week of violent clashes between BDP supporters and security forces.

Meanwhile, the police detained two suspects regarding the incident following the campaign rally in a raid they conducted on Monday morning. The suspects, identified as O.F. and H.D., were taken to the Şanlıurfa Police Department where they were to be questioned.

Dozens killed in bomb blast in Syria’s Hama

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A car bomb explosion in central Syria has killed dozens of people, according to reports from the state news agency SANA. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

 0,,17724667_303,00Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday that 34 people were killed and more than 50 others injured, when a car bomb exploded near the central Syrian city of Hama.

The blast reportedly went off in the government-controlled Horrah village in the countryside.

A source in the Hama police command told SANA that “terrorists blew up a truck loaded with about three tons of explosive materials,” which destroyed several houses and buildings in the village.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll was expected to rise because many of the wounded were in a critical condition. The group added that the area is dominated by Alawites, a sect which counts President Bashar al-Assad as a member.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, however militants often use car bombings to target government-controlled areas or military operations.

Syria’s conflict began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against Assad’s regime but quickly evolved into civil war. The fighting has since claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people, according to the United Nations.

nm/hc (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)