Turkish police authorities, in a swift and successful operation, apprehended an armed man and rescued a total of seven staff members kept hostage at a Procter & Gamble (PG.N) facility in northwestern Turkey on Thursday (Feb 1).
The Kocaeli governor's office confirmed that the hostages, which included six men and a woman, were safe and not unharmed. Notably, the rescue operation was initiated after negotiations with the assailant, an employee of the factory, proved unsuccessful.
"Our security forces intervened and neutralised the suspect," stated the governor's office. The motive behind the hostage-taking was revealed as a protest against Israel's onslaught in Gaza and the hostage-taker wanted to "draw attention" to the ongoing "occupation" in the besieged territory.
The assailant entered the Procter & Gamble facility in the Gebze industrial zone in Kocaeli province during day time, at around 3 pm (1200 GMT), reported Reuters while giving information pertaining to the incident which unfolded in the major Turkish city, around 466 kilometres from the capital of Ankara.
To tackle the situation, the Turkish police responded promptly. As per reports, firstly, the police tried to convince the hostage-taker to surrender peacefully, however, the plans failed to bore fruit and thus the rescue operation was kicked off by the authorities
