Alparslan Çelik (4th R) attends to the funeral of İbrahim Küçük at the Fatih Mosque in İstanbul on Wednesday. (Photo: DHA) Posted on 01/28/2016 8:20:15 AM PST by Trumpinator
Turkish fighter who allegedly killed Russian pilot in Syria attends funeral in Ä°stanbul
Alparslan Çelik (4th R) attends to the funeral of İbrahim Küçük at the Fatih Mosque in İstanbul on Wednesday. (Photo: DHA)
January 28, 2016, Thursday/ 12:32:39/ TODAY'S ZAMAN | ANKARA
Çelik (33) was among those at the funeral of İbrahim Küçük at the Fatih Mosque in İstanbul, the Hürriyet daily reported on Thursday.
Çelik previously admitted to having killed Oleg Peşkov, a Russian pilot, as he parachuted from his plane, which was hit by a Turkish jet for allegedly violating Turkish airspace. A Turkish F-16 shot down the Russian pilot's Su-24 on Nov. 24, an act that has led to a crisis in relations between the two countries. Peşkov was one of the two pilots in the downed jet that fell over Syrian territory near the Turkish border after being hit by a missile.
Çelik was reportedly surrounded by five of his friends after the coffin was placed in the hearse.
According to the report Çelik said in remarks to reporters: “The martyr was a friend of ours. He was with us in the Bayırbucak [region]; we were all together.â€
Bayırbucak is the name of the northwestern part of Syria that is populated by the Turkmens.
Asked when he came back to Turkey, Çelik said: “I come and go. I'm here for the funeral. I'll go back.â€
Küçük was a Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) figure who was killed in fighting against Syrian government forces that were supported by Russian jets. He was also deputy chairperson of the MHP's Fatih district office.
While the hearse left for the cemetery, some of those at the funeral reportedly shouted, “Killer Russia, get off of Turkmen Mountain.â€
After weeks of intense fighting, the Syrian forces backed by Russian jets recently captured Turkmen Mountain, which lies to the south of Turkey's Hatay province.
Çelik was reportedly seen shedding tears as he helped put the coffin in the hearse.
He was seen admitting in video footage broadcast by Turkish television stations shortly after the downing of the jet that the pilot was killed by the Turkmens.
Andrey Karlov, Russian ambassador to Turkey, said in remarks to the Cumhuriyet daily in mid-December that the person who was seen in the video footage was a Turkish citizen and named Çelik.
Çelik is the son of Ramazan Çelik, who formerly served as an MHP mayor for the Keban district in the eastern Turkish province of Elazığ.
Leading MHP figures such as Oktay Vural, the party's parliamentary group deputy chair, MHP Deputy Chairman Celal Adan, Atilla Kaya, Semih Yalçın and İzzet Ulvi Yönter were also present at the funeral, according to the report. Meral Akşener, a senior MHP figure who is contending for the party's top post, was also among those present, the report said.
Turkey is particularly concerned about Russian bombing near the Turkish border because the area in question is populated by Turkmens.
Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü, also known as Cübbeli Ahmet Hoca, the leader of an İstanbul-based religious community, led the funeral prayer for Küçük.
He will not be long for this world - they have a name and a face.
The next funeral he attends will be as star of the show.
Maybe he’ll receive a Polonium enema.
I was going to say, aren’t the Turks big tea drinkers?
I would be surprised if Russia didn’t try to get up close and personal with him. They’ll want him to see it coming rather than nail his ass with a missile.
Yep. Like the guys they dismantled in Beirut, back in the day. As I recall they made a tape recording of the process, which accompanied the return of the remains.
Time for a polonium kabob.
Article yeasterday said Russian “team” hunting him ...
Odds are he will get a visit from the Spetnaz and/or KGB (err FSB) and the world will have one less Orc.
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