29.01.2025 14:52
During a prayer at a mosque in Elazığ, an unidentified person threw a firecracker inside. The congregation, who were praying at that moment, experienced great fear, while some citizens who stopped praying chased after the fleeing individual. Those moments were captured second by second on security cameras.
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In the Kışla Mosque located in the Mustafapaşa neighborhood of Elazığ, an unidentified suspect entered while the obligatory afternoon prayer was being performed and threw two firecrackers. One of the firecrackers exploded while the other did not. With the explosion, the congregation was startled and experienced great panic. Some citizens who interrupted their prayers tried to extinguish the burning carpet with water. Citizens who went outside began to chase the fleeing individual but could not catch him.
"MAY ALLAH MAKE OUR END GOOD"
Enes Saylan, one of the citizens who stated that this incident occurred while performing the obligatory afternoon prayer two days ago, said, "As I was standing for the third rak'ah of the prayer, I heard a loud noise from the door. A friend entered, lit a firecracker, threw two inside, and ran away. Due to the acoustics of the mosque, there was a loud explosion. Our congregation was frightened by this sound. In fact, some of them interrupted their prayers. My friend the muezzin and I also interrupted our prayers to try to extinguish the fire that broke out in two places. Because if we hadn't interrupted our prayers, most of the carpets would have burned. May Allah reform them. Attacking a mosque has not been an incident that has happened in this country for a long time. May Allah make our end good," he said.
"THIS IS NOT A MADMAN'S WORK, IT'S A PLANNED ACT"
Continuing his words, Saylan stated that this was a planned act, saying, "In the security camera footage, there is a person around 15-16 years old, dressed in white and wearing a black jacket, who comes from the side of the mosque and surveys the area. This is not a madman's work; it's a planned act. After surveying the area, he comes inside. He throws the firecracker from the door and runs away. I chased after him but couldn't catch him. This mosque was opened for worship in 1961. Such situations sometimes occurred in condolence houses, but this is the first time such an attack has happened inside the mosque since 1961. About 15-20 minutes after leaving here, he also threw firecrackers at the entrance door of a congregation member's house on the street below and ran away. We estimate that there are 2-3 of them. We have filed a complaint, and we trust that the police will catch them as soon as possible," he said.
SEARCHING EVERYWHERE
Immediately after the incident, teams that arrived in the area and examined the security cameras began working to identify and capture the suspect.
Additionally, it was learned that the suspect threw a firecracker at another person's house after the mosque incident.
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