Mosque named after Turkish martyr opens in Kabul

A mosque named after the first martyr of the July 15 defeated coup in Turkey has been inaugurated by the Turkish premier in capital Kabul.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Sunday inaugurated the mosque built by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA); it has been named after martyred senior Master Sgt. Bulent Aydin.

“We’re so glad that Afghan-Turk friendship is not limited to security, but it also increasingly continues in the fields of education, defense, trade, substructure and other fields of life,” Yıldırım said during his speech at the event.

The mosque would serve Muslim soldiers at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, which until recently hosted only a church at the command post where 4,500 soldiers from 28 different NATO countries remain stationed.

The mosque, which has capacity for 500 people, reflects Turkish architecture.

Yildirim was in Kabul on Sunday for a day-long visit.

After visiting the command post at Hamid Karzai International Airport, he returned to Turkey.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.