Greek authorities are investigating a shooting in Thessaloniki on Tuesday that left one Turkish national dead and another injured, Greek media reported.
According to the police, the victims were driving near the city’s long-distance bus terminal around 1 p.m. when another vehicle blocked their path and an assailant inside opened fire. The passenger was killed, while the driver was wounded and hospitalized. Police recovered nine bullet casings at the scene.
The victims, who had been living in Greece legally for about two years, have not been publicly identified. The organized crime unit of the Greek police is leading the investigation into the incident.
Tuesday’s attack is the latest in a series of clashes among Turkish criminal groups operating in Greece. In recent years turf wars between rival organizations have led to the death of some 10 Turkish nationals in separate incidents.
A confidential report drafted by Greek security authorities in September warned about the activities of Turkish criminal groups operating in the country, pointing out the risk of their being used by foreign intelligence services for espionage.
The report also warned of the risk of Greece becoming the place for settling accounts between Turkish organized crime groups, as happened in the case of the murder of six people in 2023.
Six members of an İstanbul-based Turkish criminal gang were found dead in Loutsa, a town in Attica, central Greece, in September 2023 in what was reported to have been revenge for the killing of a rival gang boss in Paris.
Turkey and Greece, NATO allies and historic foes, have long been at odds over maritime boundaries, among other issues. In recent months, they have stepped up cooperation in many sectors including security.