Turkish ferry hijacked by suspected Kurdish militant

Turkish security forces early on Saturday took control of a passenger ferry that was hijacked by a suspected Kurdish militant off the coast of Istanbul. State-run TRT television reported that security forces shot dead the sole hijacker and took control of the ship, which had 24 people onboard. Earlier reports said up to five assailants had taken the passengers hostage during a journey in the Sea of Marmara in northwest Turkey before the high-speed “sea bus” ran low on fuel and had to anchor west of Istanbul. Coast guard boats and a helicopter were chasing the ferry since it was hijacked on Friday evening after it set sail from the northwestern port of Izmit. Relatives of the hostages were anxiously aiwated news in the ports of the cities of Izmit and Golcuk, the Anatolia news agency reported. "We heard about it from the media. We couldn't establish any telephone connections, though we tried many times," a relative of one of the hostages told Anatolia. Nearby boat and ferry trips between Istanbul and Yalova, about one hour away, were cancelled after the attack, media reports said. The island of Imrali, where Ocalan, the jailed PKK leader, is being held, lies around 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of the hijacking spot. Turkish media say the hijackers may be heading for the island. "Measures were boosted around the island of Imrali where PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has not been allowed to meet with his lawyers for months, is being held," said the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency. Patrol boats have been deployed and were scanning a five nautical mile no-go area around the island, it added. Pro-Kurdish demonstrations are regularly held in Turkish cities in support of Ocalan, who is still considered the PKK's chief despite his imprisonment. Transport Minister Binali Yildirim told NTV television that the hijacked Kartepe was being shadowed by coast guard ships which have not had direct contact with the rebels but managed brief exchanges with the captain. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms for Kurdish independence in southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives. Clashes between the PKK and the army have escalated since mid-2011. A surge of attacks by PKK rebels also caused civilian deaths in Turkey, prompting the Turkish military to launch in October a cross-border operation against rebel hideouts in northern Iraq. The army operations were mostly concentrated in Turkey's southeast as well as a few areas in the north of Iraq. Observers say the military action was in response to a domestic outcry but offered no solution to the root of the problem.