Israel Warns Against Travel to Turkey Citing Iran Assassination

Konyaaltı beach amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya, Turkey, June 19, 2020. (Reuters Photo)
Konyaaltı beach amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya, Turkey, June 19, 2020. (Reuters Photo)
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Israel Warns Against Travel to Turkey Citing Iran Assassination

Konyaaltı beach amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya, Turkey, June 19, 2020. (Reuters Photo)
Konyaaltı beach amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya, Turkey, June 19, 2020. (Reuters Photo)

Israel on Monday warned its citizens against travel to Turkey, citing Iranian threats of revenge for the assassination last week of a Revolutionary Guards colonel.

Teheran has blamed Israel for the killing of Hassan Sayad Khodai, who was shot dead at the wheel of his car by two people on a motorcycle and has vowed retaliation.

According to Reuters, Israel's National Security Council said in a statement that Tehran could be looking to harm Israelis in Turkey and classified it as a "high-risk country."

Turkey is a popular tourist destination for Israelis and the two countries have been mending their ties after more than a decade of strained relations.

Israel has accused Khodai of plotting attacks against its citizens worldwide.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's office, which oversees intelligence agency Mossad, has declined to comment on the assassination but Bennett said on Sunday that Teheran would "pay the full price" for instigating attacks on Israelis.



Pickup Truck Driver Killed by Police after Driving Through Texas Mall and Injuring 5

This image taken from video provided by KCEN-TV shows police responding after a man drove a vehicle into a JCPenney at a shopping mall Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Killeen, Texas. AP/KCEN-TV
This image taken from video provided by KCEN-TV shows police responding after a man drove a vehicle into a JCPenney at a shopping mall Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Killeen, Texas. AP/KCEN-TV
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Pickup Truck Driver Killed by Police after Driving Through Texas Mall and Injuring 5

This image taken from video provided by KCEN-TV shows police responding after a man drove a vehicle into a JCPenney at a shopping mall Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Killeen, Texas. AP/KCEN-TV
This image taken from video provided by KCEN-TV shows police responding after a man drove a vehicle into a JCPenney at a shopping mall Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Killeen, Texas. AP/KCEN-TV

A pickup truck driver fleeing police careened through the doors of a JCPenney store in Texas and continued through a busy mall, injuring five people before he was fatally shot by officers, authorities said.
The truck crashed into the department store in Killeen, about 68 miles (109 kilometers) north of the state capital Austin, around 5:30 p.m. Saturday and continued into the building, striking people as it went, Sgt. Bryan Washko of the Texas Department of Public Safety said in an evening news briefing.
Emergency medical services transported four victims from the mall to area hospitals and another traveled to a hospital separately. They ranged in age from 6 to 75 years old and their conditions were not immediately known, he said.
The chase began around 5 p.m. on Interstate 14 in Belton, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Killeen, after authorities received calls about an erratic driver in a black pickup, Ofelia Miramontez of the Killeen Police Department said.
The driver then pulled off the road and drove into the parking lot of the mall.
“The suspect drove through the doors and continued to drive through the JCPenney store, striking multiple people,” Washko said. “The trooper and the Killeen police officer continued on foot after this vehicle, which was driving through the store, actively running people over. He traveled several hundred yards.”
Officers from the state public safety department, Killeen and three other law enforcement agencies “engaged in gunfire to eliminate this threat,” Washko said.
One of the officers who traded gunfire with the suspect was working as a security guard at the mall and others were off duty, he said.
Washko did not have information about the suspect's identity at the time of the briefing.
Witnesses interviewed by local news outlets outside the mall said they heard multiple gunshots and saw people fleeing through the mall.