A gunmen killed one judge and injured four others in a top Turkish court in Ankara. The incident was quickly condemned by Turkey's president as an attack on the nation's secular establishment.
The gunmen described himself as a 'soldier of Allah' and claimed that the attack was due to a recent court decision banning headscarves in universities and state offices.
The dead judge has been identified as Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin. He was shot in the head and rushed to a local hospital where he died of his wounds.
The attacker has been described as a young lawyer. He burst into the court's second chamber and started shooting at approximately 10:00 AM local time on Wednesday. He was carrying a loaded handgun.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer described the incident as a 'black mark on the Republic's history' and later told reporters in a rare interview that 'It is seen that this is an attack against our Republic and our Republic's irrevocable democratic and secular character.'
'The attacker entered the chamber during a meeting and opened fire on each of the members, saying 'we are soldiers of Allah,' the court's deputy chairwoman Tansel Colasan told Reuters.
The attacker is in custody and is presently being interrogated by police.
