On Sept. 10, Lt. Col. Hakan Karakus, a Turkish F-16 pilot with NATO, and his wife were taking their 6-day-old baby to the hospital for vaccination. As they drove down a busy street in Ankara, a Kuwaiti Embassy car carrying the military attaché passed by, dangerously close. Karakus honked his horn and then stopped to check whether his car had sustained any damage. As soon as he got out, a furious quarrel erupted. Three men from the Kuwaiti car pinned Karakus to the ground and beat him up. As passersby took on the assailants, the bloodied pilot was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The military attaché took refuge in a nearby bank, while the other embassy staff managed to escape.
The incident was soon on television bulletins and demonstrations were held outside the Kuwaiti Embassy. The Turkish General Staff issued a statement condemning the assault, while the Foreign Ministry summoned embassy officials for explanations while Ambassador Abdullah Abdulazeez Al-Duwaikh was out of town.