ISTANBUL: A Russian naval intelligence ship sank off Turkey’s Black Sea coast after colliding with a vessel carrying livestock on Thursday and all 78 personnel on board were evacuated, Turkey’s coastal safety authority said.
The ship, identified as the “Liman,” collided with the Togo-flagged “Youzarsif H,” the coastal safety authority said on its website.
Turkish authorities dispatched a tugboat and three fast rescue vessels, it said. Turkish shipping agency GAC said separately that the collision was caused due to fog and low visibility.
Broadcaster NTV said the collision occurred 18 miles (29 km) from Kilyos village, on the Black Sea coast just north of Istanbul.
Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait, which cuts through Istanbul, is one of the world’s most important waterways for transit of oil and grains. The 17-mile waterway connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.
Russian intelligence ship sinks off Turkey’s Black Sea coast
Russian intelligence ship sinks off Turkey’s Black Sea coast
4 Syrian security personnel killed in attack in Raqqa
- Internal Security Forces reports that 1 of the attackers has been neutralized
- Second violent attack in northeast region within 48 hours
LONDON: Syrian authorities have reported that four security personnel died and two were injured during an attack on a government checkpoint in the city of Raqqa — located in the northeast of the country — on Monday.
The Internal Security Forces said that one of the attackers had been neutralized, and that security units were currently conducting a thorough sweep of the surrounding area to identify and eliminate the remaining members of the cell responsible for the attack, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
It marks the second violent attack in the region within 48 hours targeting the Internal Security Forces. The same checkpoint was attacked on Sunday, resulting in another operative being neutralized, as reported by SANA.
Raqqa was under Daesh control from 2014 to 2017. It was regarded as the group’s capital.
Government forces of the Syrian Arab Republic regained control of the region in January following a ceasefire and integration agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
