Man beats wife, kills two soldiers in northwestern Turkey

ÇANAKKALE, Turkey (AA)

A 46-year-old Turkish man murdered two soldiers on the night of April 18 in the northwestern province of Çanakkale before being shot dead by gendarmes pursuing him.

The man, identified as 46-year-old Yakup A., first killed sergeant İhsan Yıldız, 46, who came to his house to persuade him not to use violence against his wife.

He then run into the forest nearby and killed another officer, Ömer Yanar, 41, from the gendarmerie team trying to capture him.

He later was shot dead in an operation launched early April 19.

"The murder of soldiers who were there only to prevent a family fight is very heartbreaking for us and for the people of Çanakkale," said the province's governor, Ahmet Çınar, after the incident.