Driver of bus, attacked in Syria, says a van approached and gunfire began

KOCAELI (A.A) - November 28, 2011 - The driver of a bus which was attacked in Syria when carrying hajjis back to Turkey said on Monday that a van approached the bus and gunfire began. Yavuz Zurnaci interviewed with AA correspondent as he returned to his hometown Basiskele in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, and said that he was returning from Saudi Arabia to Turkey with 27 passengers when the bus was attacked. "We passed through Jordan, and we did not face any problems until we reached Syria," Zurnaci said. Zurnaci said bus was stopped often and passengers were checked in Syria, and they had to bribe Syrian officials in order to continue their route. "When there was only 30 kilometers to the border, a red van approached, a person opened the window and started gunfire," Zurnaci said. Zurnaci said one of passengers was injured in foot as one of the bullets broke the bus window, and then he geared up and drove faster. "I asked the passengers to lie down on the aisle, and pursuit began. The van approached the bus on the right, shot a bullet on the front tyre and I continued to drive by a flat tyre," he said. Zurnaci said he did not stop and continued to drive the car, but the van continued to fire from the back, and the pursuit continued for ten to fifteen minutes. "A truck was burnt on the highway, I thought it may be a trap, and I did not stop," he said. Zurnaci said then four people stood before the bus and opened fire on the bus, injuring another passenger in the foot. The driver said a soldier at the Turkish-Syrian border told him that "the Turkish prime minister was getting involved in everything too much, and he should come and rescue themselves from there." "We did not face more problems when other executives intervened, and we entered Turkey from Cilvegozu border crossing," Zurnaci said. Zurnaci said his father and brother were waiting in Medina, Saudi Arabia and there were 250-200 more buses there, and asked Turkish authorities to help them and show them a safe route.  An armed attack was staged on November 21 on two buses carrying Turkish hajjis in a location between Syrian cities of Hama and Homs. Two people including a driver were slightly wounded in the attack, and they were hospitalized.