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Fenerbahce team bus shot at en route to airport, driver wounded

ANKARA, Turkey -- A bus carrying Fenerbahce players was shot at on a highway in northern Turkey on Saturday, the region's governor said.

The bus driver was wounded and hospitalised. Abdulcelil Oz, the governor of Trabzon, said the driver appeared to have been hit by a bullet, changing an earlier statement in which he claimed the driver was believed to have been hit by a stone.

"The latest situation is that it appears to be a gun," Oz said. "It is too soon to say anything definite, but it appears to be a type of bullet fired by a rifle."

Fenerbahce TV maintained the bus was attacked by an assailant with a shotgun. It said security officers on board quickly took control of the bus and safely stopped it after the driver was hit, averting an accident. None of the players were hurt.

The attack came after the team's 5-1 win over the Black Sea side Caykur Rizespor in their Turkish Super League game.

The bus was going over a viaduct on its way from the city of Rize to the airport in Trabzon to return to Istanbul.

The club posted several pictures of the bus on their website, showing a shattered side window and damage to the front windscreen.

The team eventually arrived at the airport, with the entrance lined by their fans.

Oz said an investigation was launched and vowed to catch the assailant.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and clubs condemned the attack.

Fenerbahce general secretary Mahmut Uslu said on the club website the attack was "very wrong," saying: "We come here to do sport, we come to play football."

Information from The Associated Press and Press Association was used in this report.