Reuters, Istanbul, 10 August 2015 – Two women shot at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul on Monday and at least eight people were killed in a wave of separate attacks on Turkish security forces, weeks after Ankara launched a crackdown on Islamic State,
Police with automatic rifles cordoned off streets around the U.S. consulate in the Sariyer district on the European side of Istanbul, following the gun attack there.
Ahmet Akcay, a resident who witnessed the attack, told Reuters that one of the women fired four or five rounds, aiming at security officials and consulate officers.
“Police were shouting ’drop your bag, drop your bag’. And the woman was saying: ’I will not surrender’,” Akcay said.
“The police warned her again: ’Drop your bag or we will have to shoot you’, and the woman said: ’Shoot’.”
One of the two women was later captured wounded, the Istanbul governor’s office said.
The Dogan news agency said the injured woman was aged 51 and had served prison time
“We are working with Turkish authorities to investigate the incident. The Consulate General remains closed to the public until further notice,” a consulate official said.
On the other side of Istanbul, a vehicle laden with explosives was used to attack a police station, injuring three police officers and seven civilians, police said.
One of the attackers was killed during the bombing, while two others and a police officer died in a subsequent firefight, the Istanbul governor’s office said. Broadcaster CNN Turk said the officer was a senior member of the bomb squad who had been sent to investigate the attack.
Shooting continued into Monday morning in the Sultanbeyli district on the Asian side of the Bosphorus waterway, which divides Istanbul, as police carried out raids.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either of the attacks, but U.S. diplomatic missions and police stations have been targeted by far-left groups in Turkey in the past.
VIOLENCE IN SOUTHEAST
Turkey opened its air bases to the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State (IS) last month after years of reluctance and carried out its own bombing raids, stepping up its role after a suspected IS suicide bomber killed 32 people in the town of Suruc near the Syrian border.
Four police officers were killed when their armored vehicle was hit by roadside explosives in the town of Silopi, the governor’s office in the province of Sirnak said.