Turkish Police Chief Killed in Shooting by Fellow Serviceman

Turkish Provincial Police Director Altuğ Verdi, (Arabic Website)
Turkish Provincial Police Director Altuğ Verdi, (Arabic Website)
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Turkish Police Chief Killed in Shooting by Fellow Serviceman

Turkish Provincial Police Director Altuğ Verdi, (Arabic Website)
Turkish Provincial Police Director Altuğ Verdi, (Arabic Website)

Turkish Provincial Police Director Altuğ Verdi was killed and two officers were wounded in a shooting by a disgruntled colleague Tuesday at Rize Police Department in northeastern Turkey.

Verdi was taken to the hospital in critical condition but doctors were unable to save his life, Rize Governor Kemal Çeber said.

The unidentified suspect, who was wounded and arrested, was a Rize policeman who worked in the traffic department. The suspect was serving in the province's Derepazarı district and sought a new assignment in central Rize.

“In line with the security procedure, he checked out his pistol in the front desk outside police chief's room. When his request for reassignment was rejected by the police chief, he returned to the desk, grabbed his gun and stormed into the room,” Çeber said.

Turkey's Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said that all three wounded were immediately taken to the hospital to receive medical attention, but doctors later announced Verdi’s death. Special operations teams entered the building after gunshots were heard and precautions were taken to secure the premises.



Iran Unveils New Underground Naval Base

A screenshot from Iranian state TV shows a newly built underground naval base, January 18, 2025.
A screenshot from Iranian state TV shows a newly built underground naval base, January 18, 2025.
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Iran Unveils New Underground Naval Base

A screenshot from Iranian state TV shows a newly built underground naval base, January 18, 2025.
A screenshot from Iranian state TV shows a newly built underground naval base, January 18, 2025.

The naval arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) unveiled on Saturday an underground base in the country’s southern waters, according to footage aired by state television.

The broadcaster, AFP said, showed that the base houses dozens of assault boats equipped with missile launchers.

“This facility, which houses missile assault boats, lies 500 meters underground on the southern waters of Iran,” the report said. It did not reveal the location of the base.

IRGC commander General Hossein Salami toured the base with naval arm commander, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, the footage showed.

“We assure the great nation of Iran that their young people are capable of coming out honorable and victorious from a battle on the seas against enemies big and small,” Salami said.

Salami's visit comes just days before Donald Trump's inauguration as US president on Monday for a second term of office.

During his first term, Trump pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran, abandoning a 2015 nuclear agreement and reimposing sweeping sanctions.

State television said some of the vessels kept at the base unveiled on Saturday were “capable of destroying US warships and destroyers.”

In a rare video released on January 10, the Iranian state TV showed Salami and Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh touring an underground missile storage facility that had been used to launch around 200 missiles at Israel last October. These included for the first time hypersonic weapons.

At the time, Iran said the attack came in retaliation for the assassination in July of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, and in response to the Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27 that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Brig-Gen Abbas Nilforoushan, the operations commander of the IRGC’s overseas arm, the Quds Force.

Israel announced in late October that it had struck military targets inside Iran in response to the Iranian attacks.