“Nationalists” were offended by their proselytizing.
“Report: 3 killed in attack on publishing house that prints Bibles in Turkey,” from The Associated Press, with thanks to all who sent this in:
ISTANBUL, Turkey: Assailants killed three people Wednesday at a publishing house that distributed Bibles, in the latest attack apparently targeting Turkey’s tiny Christian minority.
The three victims were found with their throats slit and their hands and legs bound, Malatya Gov. Ibrahim Dasoz said. One was found still alive, and was taken to the hospital but later died, he said, adding that one victim may have been German.
None of the victims’ nationalities could immediately be confirmed.
A fourth man who jumped from a window to escape was hospitalized with injuries, officials said. Dr. Murat Cem Miman told CNN-Turk television that the man was undergoing surgery for head trauma.
Police detained four suspects, and were investigating whether the man who jumped from the window could have been one of the attackers, Dasoz said. Police were expected to release information about the attack later Wednesday.
The Zirve publishing house, in the city of Malatya, has been the site of previous protests by nationalists accusing it of proselytizing in this 99-percent Muslim but secular country, Dogan news agency reported.
Zirve’s general manager told CNN-Turk that his employees had recently been threatened. “We know that they have been receiving some threats,” Hamza Ozant said, but could not say who the threats came from….
Attacks have become more common against members of Turkey’s tiny Christian community, which comprises less than 1 percent of the population, and concerns have grown that nationalism and hostility toward non-Muslims are rising.