Going to the Ankara Gölbaşı Special Operations Headquarters after hearing about the coup attempt, despite the fact that he was off duty on July 15th, police officer Yakup Sürücü was martyred by a Putschist bomb.
Spending his annual leave in Antalya, Yakup decided to return a week before the end of his leave, and returned to Ankara on July 15th. Hearing about the coup attempt on the night of the same day, he called his superior to inform him that he was back, and asked if they needed him. He was asked to come help immediately. His wife Ümmügülsüm, didn’t want to let him go, but he said, “This is a matter of country, wait for me.” However, he was martyred after the second bomb that dropped on the Gölbaşı Special Operations Headquarters. Yakup’s body became unidentifiable due to the effect of the bomb, his uncle Sinan Sürücü, identified him from his teeth. Struggling with the pain, his family did not want to believe that he was martyred and wanted to make sure by performing a DNA test.
29 Year old Yakup, took military exams before he became a police officer, but was not allowed to join because his mother wore headscarf. Applying to become a police officer later, he graduated from the Erzurum Police Academy.
“He left putting his stamp on history”
Yakup’s wife Ümmügülsüm, who is a teacher in Şemdinli, Hakkari, stated that her husband had served in Cizre, Nusaybin and Şırnak. She said the following about her husband, “When I was working in Şemdinli, there was a curfew in Yüksekova, and I was able to get off from work to see him in Ankara. Now, when I go to see him, there is one meter of earth between us, and I cannot overcome it as it came from God.” She also stated that her husband left putting his stamp on history, stating that, “Most importantly, he became neighbors with the prophet, he was martyred. If only, I could join him. We had been married for a year and a half, and we had a lot of dreams.”
Yakup’s funeral service was held at the Narmanlı Mosque in Erzurum, and the after ceremony was held at the police department. He was buried in the district of Taşkaynak in Pasinler.
The name Martyr Yakup Sürücü was given to an Anatolian high school.
