Armed man held after Turkish ferry hijack bid

ISTANBUL, Jan 28 (Reuters) A man armed with a handgun who said he belonged to a Turkish nationalist group surrendered to police last night after briefly seizing a ferry in the Dardanelles straits, CNN Turk television said.

The man, who threatened to blow up the ferry, seized the vessel on its way from Gelibolu on the European side of the strait to Lapseki on the Asian side, CNN Turk said.

The man shouted, ''I did it for the homeland'' after giving himself up to police.

Passengers reported that he had seized the ferry in protest at pro-Armenian sentiment in Turkey after the January. 19 killing of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, which prompted large protests in favour of Armenians.

REUTERS DH RN0647