Photos: Rudaw

Early in the morning yesterday, four members of a Kurdish family traveling in a vehicle with Duhok numberplate were shot and killed on the Artuklu-Nusaybin highway in Türkiye''s southeastern province of Mardin. One more family member died later during the day at the hospital.

Preparations for the funerals and mourning in a mosque in Duhok this morning. Photo: Rudaw

The dead bodies of five family members reached Duhok at 02:00 am this morning, where they will be buried today in two different cemeteries, Rudaw reports.

The victims stopped in a restaurant on the highway and took this picture shortly before the attack. 

Abdullah Salih Mustafa Mamisi (69), his wife Cimen Şahin Halid (75), and their daughter Hindirin Abdullah Salih (39) were killed immediately and Wahide Haydar Casım (63) and her son Ahmed Celaleddin İbrahim (45) died at the hospital in Diyarbakır where they were taken after they were heavily injured in the attack.

Abdullah Salih Mustafa and Ahmed Celaleddin İbrahim, Behdinan were two clerics known in their region, Rudaw reports.

The victims of one of the families were visiting Mardin for medical treatment, according to their relatives, when they were shot "in the head" inside their car early in the morning yesterday (January 19).

Later yesterday the governor's office in Mardin announced that four people have been detained as suspects in the incident, adding that further investigation into the shooting continues.

Again yesterday, Kurdistan Region's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani extended his condolences to the families involved and condemned the killings.

"As we strongly condemn this crime, we ask the Turkish government to reveal the causes behind this incident and bring the perpetrators to justice," read the statement from PM Barzani.

Ahmed al-Sahaf, the spokesperson for Iraq's foreign ministry, told reporters that Iraq's diplomatic missions in Turkey are working closely with the relevant authorities to determine the "motives and details" of the incident.

Murder on thermal camera, six detained

It was reported today that the attack on the vehicle of the victims was reflected in a thermal camera. The thermal camera shootings show the two suspects following and shooting at the vehicle and the victims, and then driving away.

Four suspects have been detained M.Ş, F.A, A.Y., and A.K. following a police raid at their house in the scope of the investigation on the murders.

Two other suspects, M.Y. and Z.K. were detained following the statements of the previous three. 

It was reported that the suspects said that they have committed the crime for the purpose of robbery.

The family members are also seen in the video recordings of the restaurant at the highway where they stopped just before the attack. Here they are seen coming out of their vehicle and going into the restaurant and coming out of the restaurant.

#Mardin'de silahlı saldırıda hayatını kaybeden 5 kişinin son görüntüleri

Nusaybin-Mardin karayolundaki dinlenme tesisinde duran araçtan inerek bir restorana gittikleri görülüyor

Buradan çıktıktan sonra Nusaybin çıkışında saldırıya uğramışlardı https://t.co/rv3R9q7k0c pic.twitter.com/0mDQwDW6Ra

— Rudaw Türkçe (@RudawTurkce) January 19, 2023

"They were going to Samsun" 

Muyesser Abdullah Salih, who lost his father, mother, and sister in the bloody attack told Anadolu Agency that the family did not have any enemies. 

She said, "My father, my mother, and my sister were killed. My sister's house is in Samsun. They were going there in order to visit her. They go there for a visit three or four times a year. They stay for ten to fifteen days and return. They were again traveling from Iraq to Samsun. We did not have any dispute with anyone." 

Salih also told AA that the mother and son in their vehicle were their relatives and they were going to Diyarbakır for eye surgery. (PE)