A gunman was killed and two others wounded in a shootout with police on Tuesday outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, authorities said. Two police officers were also lightly injured.
Governor Davut Gül said the attack took place at around 12:15 p.m. local time. One of the assailants was shot dead during the exchange of fire.
It was not immediately clear whether the Israeli consulate was the intended target. According to a source familiar with the matter, no Israeli diplomats are currently present in Turkey.
Israeli diplomatic missions were evacuated across the region following the October 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel, the same source said.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said the suspects had travelled to Istanbul in a rental vehicle from İzmit, a city around 86 kilometres away. He added that one of the assailants was linked to an “organisation that exploits the region.”
The ministry later said the gunman who was killed had “connections with a terrorist group,” but did not name it. Turkish media reported that the group may be Islamic State.
Police confirmed that the two surviving suspects are brothers. One has a prior drug offence.
According to media reports, the attackers were armed with long guns, wore camouflage clothing, and carried backpacks.
A large police presence was deployed around the consulate in the Levent business district. AFP journalists at the scene reported bloodstains in a nearby parking area. The site is normally closed off to the public.
Footage broadcast by NTV showed police officers opening fire near a busy street, as well as an injured person being taken away on a stretcher.
The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack condemned the incident, calling it “an attack on the international order.”
“Attacks on diplomatic missions are attacks on the international order—and an assault on the principles that bind nations together,” he said, praising Turkish authorities for their “swift and decisive response.”
Islamic State has previously carried out deadly attacks in Turkey, including a 2017 nightclub attack in Istanbul that killed 39 people.
