Two attackers were killed during a shootout with the police in front of the long-closed Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, which is located in the Levent district, on the European side of the city.
This was reported by the Turkish broadcaster NTV, according to which the third person involved in the shooting was captured after being injured.
The firefight, which began around 12pm local time, 11am in Italy, lasted about 10 minutes. According to initial reconstructions, the three attackers arrived on the scene with long-barreled weapons, wearing camouflage clothes and a backpack and opened fire on the officers who were near the Israeli Consulate building. Two policemen were injured.
An investigation has been opened into the incident
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said that an investigation into the incident had been opened, Anadolu reports. The area where the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul is located is an area, outside the historic center of Istanbul but not on the outskirts, where numerous banks and shopping centers are located.
Attackers defined as “terrorists”
Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci called the attackers who opened fire near the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul “terrorists” and said they had been identified. “The identity of the terrorists was ascertained. It emerged that they came from Izmit”, a place about a hundred kilometers east of Istanbul, “and that they had arrived in Istanbul aboard a rented vehicle. One of the individuals appeared to have links to an organization that exploits religion and one of the other two terrorists, who are brothers, has a criminal record linked to drug trafficking”, Ciftci said on X.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry, however, announced that there were no personnel at the Israeli consulate in Istanbul during the firefight that occurred nearby recently. Ynet reports it.