US consular staff in Turkey quizzed over video that ´mocked Islam´

ISTANBUL: Turkish police questioned two local staffers from a US consulate in Turkey Wednesday over a Halloween party video accused of “denigrating religious values”, news agency DHA reported. The pair, who work at the consulate in the southern city of Adana, were taken in for questioning and later released, the local prosecutor told DHA. It followed a video, which spread online, showing a women mocking “Zamzam” water, which is considered holy because it is drawn from a well in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. A man, dressed as a pious Muslim, advises her to drink a cocktail. The prosecutor said those detained were two employees from the consulate aged 30 and 38. A number of issues have strained relations between Ankara and Washington, including Turkey´s offensive last month against Kurdish militants in Syria, who were a close ally of the US against the Islamic State group.