ISTANBUL (AFP) - A gunman was killed and two others wounded in a shootout Tuesday with police outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, Turkish officials said, adding that two officers were lightly wounded.
Governor Davut Gul confirmed the killing of one of the assailants during the attack that took place just after noon (5 a.m. EDT).
It was not immediately clear if the intended target was the Israeli consulate. No Israeli diplomats "are currently on Turkish soil," a source familiar with the matter told AFP.
Israeli diplomatic missions had been evacuated "not only in Turkey but throughout the region for security reasons" shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israeli soil, according to the same source.
Israel said it would not be cowed down while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the "treacherous attack" and vowed to fight "all kinds of terrorism."
"We will not allow ... provocations to harm Turkey's climate of security," Erdogan said in a televised speech.
"We appreciate the Turkish security forces' swift action in thwarting this attack. Israeli missions around the world have been subjected to countless threats and terrorist attacks. Terror will not deter us," the Israeli foreign ministry posted on X.
Turkey's Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said the assailants came in a rented vehicle from Izmit, a city about 50 miles away and that one of them was linked to an "organization that exploits the region."
The ministry later clarified that the dead gunman "had connections with a terrorist group" and said two policemen were "slightly injured."
The remaining two assailants were brothers and one has a drug record, it added.
Footage showed one attacker armed with an automatic rifle, dressed in beige cargo pants and black top and carrying a backpack.
"I saw gunfire suddenly break out ... It went on for quite a while," a witness who wished to remain anonymous told AFP.
'People panicked'
"I saw a police officer collapse. People panicked," he said.
Turkish officials would not immediately reveal the group but local media said it could be Islamic State group, whose members clashed with police in Yalova - which lies on the Sea of Marmara about 55 miles southeast of Istanbul.
IS group militants opened fire on police in Yalova in December, killing three officers and wounding nine.
Turkish police have stepped up nationwide raids against IS group militants, rounding up 125 suspects after that attack.
Television images Tuesday showed police officers opening fire near a busy thoroughfare and an injured person being carried away on a stretcher.
Turkish media reported that the shootout lasted for about 10 minutes.
A large police presence was deployed in front of the consulate, located in the Levent business district on the European side of Istanbul, AFP journalists witnessed.
They also saw bloodstains on the ground in an adjacent parking lot.
The immediate vicinity of the consulate sees heightened security measures even under normal circumstances, as the area is cordoned off by police barriers.
Istanbul public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation while the state-run TRT television reported that three suspects were detained.
"The United States condemns in the strongest terms today's attack on the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul," U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said on X.
"Attacks on diplomatic missions are attacks on the international order - and an assault on the principles that bind nations together," he added, while commending Turkey and Turkish security forces for "their swift and decisive response."
The IS group has carried out deadly attacks in Turkey including one at a nightclub in Istanbul that killed 39 people in 2017.
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By YASIN AKGUL Agence France-Presse
Source: Courthouse News Service
