US Air Force secretary signs condolence book at Turkish embassy in Washington

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall signed the condolence book Monday at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C. in tribute to the victims of last week’s earthquakes in southern Türkiye.

"Sincere thanks to Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall, for signing the book of condolence for the memory of the victims of the earthquakes in Türkiye,” the embassy tweeted.

"We appreciate our ally’s support and solidarity in this time of sorrow," it wrote.

Kendall was welcomed by Ambassador Hasan Murat Mercan and Turkish military attaché Hakan Camli.

At least 31,643 people died in the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6. More than 80,000 others were injured.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, which also included Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.