A Christian publishing house was attacked by four (or six) men who killed three Christians and slit their throats:
Knife-wielding attackers slit the throats of three people at a Christian publishing house in conservative eastern Turkey yesterday.Join me in praying for the safety of those who remain so that they can continue printing Bibles and pray for the families of those who were killed that God would give them comfort during this time of sorrow and that the Lord can use this to bring salvation in the lives of those who live in darkness.
One of the dead men was of German origin, the local governor said. Two other men were taken to hospital, one with knife wounds to his throat, back and stomach, the other with a head injury after jumping from a third-floor window to escape. The hospital in the town of Malatya said that both were in a critical condition.
Police have detained four men for the attack, which took place in the early afternoon. Television footage showed a policeman tackling one man while another man covered in blood was carried to an ambulance on a stretcher.
The killings came less than three months after the murder of a prominent Armenian journalist.
The Zirve publishing house, which the Turkish media says is owned by two South Africans, Gert Martinus de Lange and Stephen Smithdorf, had been the target of nationalist protests for allegedly distributing Bibles and proselytising.
Halil Ibrahim Dasoz, the Governor of Malatya, said the authorities were also investigating possible Islamist links, because the method of killing was reminiscent of attacks by the Turkish arm of the militant Islamist group Hezbollah.
Officials from Zirve say they had been the target of threats for some time and had been intending to ask for protection. They deny any missionary aims.
Pray also that justice will prevail and these men will face a stiff sentence.
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