Turkish official shot dead in hostage drama

The social security director of Turkey's southwestern province of Mugla was shot dead Friday by a gunman who took five hostages before surrendering to the police, Xinhua reported.

The slain Naci Sahin, director of the social security department of Mugla, was in a meeting at 9:30 a.m. local time (0730 GMT), when one of his colleagues Hasan Sunnetcioglu entered the meeting room, took out a gun and opened fire, killing him on the spot.

Cem Dinc, a social security official who was attending the meeting, told reporters that the assailant entered the room saying "How are you Naci", then pointed a gun at Sahin's head and shot him.

"We tried to escape in panic, it was a horrifying experience," he said.

The assailant then took five people as hostages, and went to the window of the second-floor meeting room, shouting towards outside that "I have worked with honor, I will continue to do so."

He surrendered to the police about 15 minutes later. Two of the five hostages managed to escape before the assailant surrendered, and the other three were rescued later.


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