One attacker was killed and two others injured in a prolonged gun battle with police outside the building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, according to authorities and Reuters witnesses.
Police officers drew their weapons and took cover as gunfire echoed for nearly 10 minutes near a permanent security checkpoint. A person was seen lying bloodied among the glass towers in the city’s main financial district.
Footage obtained by Reuters showed a suspected attacker, dressed in dark clothing and carrying a backpack, moving between parked police and security buses while firing an automatic rifle and a handgun.
Two bodies were later seen lying on nearby streets and parking areas close to grassy patches.
The three attackers had links to an organisation that “exploits religion”, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said, adding that two of them were brothers.
Two police officers were lightly wounded in the attack, Istanbul Governor Davut Gul told reporters at the scene.
Turkish Police’s special forces work at the scene, after gunfire was heard near the building housing the Israeli consulate, according to a witness, in Istanbul, Turkey. PHOTO: REUTERS
Turkish Police’s special forces work at the scene, after gunfire was heard near the building housing the Israeli consulate, according to a witness, in Istanbul, Turkey. PHOTO: REUTERS
He said there had been no Israeli diplomatic staff at the consulate for 2-1/2 years, since the Hamas-Israel war began in 2023, leading to a deep chill in Turkish-Israeli diplomatic ties.
The incident occurred next to a major motorway just after midday, immediately outside the tower where the Israeli consulate is located. The gunfire echoed inside nearby bank headquarters, where thousands of workers were breaking for lunch.
Turkey, a fierce critic of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, had recalled its ambassador from Israel in November 2023 and diplomatic relations have been effectively frozen since then.
At the same time that year, Israeli diplomats left Turkey due to security concerns after pro-Palestinian protests erupted across the country and in front of the consulate. Since then, a heavily armed police presence has been maintained in the area near the consulate.
The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed there were no staff at the consulate at the time of the shootings.
Source: Express Tribune
