A ferocious slaughter occurred on Wednesday at a publishing house that distributes Bibles in Turkey, killing three - a German and two Turkish nationals.

The massacre, that added to string of attacks apparently targeting the country's tiny Christian minority, occurred in Malatya. The city is known as a hotbed of Turkish nationalism and is the hometown of Mehmet Ali Agca, the gunman who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981.

Malatya Governor Ibrahim Dasoz said two of the victims at the Zirve publishing house were found already dead and the third died after being taken to the hospital. All had their throats slit and their hands and legs were bound, he said.

Police have already detained four suspects and are investigating whether another man who suffered head injuries when he jumped from the window of the publisher's office may have been involved in the attack

The victims of the attack have been identified as Tilman Ekkehart Geske, 46, Necati Aydin, 35, and Ugur Yuksel.

According to reports, all five of the attackers, who were aged between 19 and 20, were students staying in a dormitory and were preparing to take university entrance exams.

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