A gunman was killed and two were injured in a shootout near the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called a 'heinous act of terror.'
Two policemen were 'slightly injured' in the gun fight, Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said.
Ciftci stated that the attackers had come to Istanbul from the city of Izmit by rental car and identified two of them as brothers.
In an official statement posted on X, the interior ministry identified the deceased gunman as Yunus E.S., alleging connections to a terrorist organization that exploits religion, believed to be a reference to the Islamic State group, though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
'We will not allow the climate of trust in Turkey to be damaged by such vile and timed provocations as today's,' Erdogan asserted.
The initial reports indicated two attackers had died; however, local governor Davut Gul later clarified that only one assailant was killed.
The two injured attackers were named as Onur Ç and Enes Ç, brothers according to the interior ministry. The injured policemen were noted to be in stable condition, one shot in the leg and the other in the ear.
'Intensive digital communication has been detected among the three neutralized terrorists, and the interrogation of the injured terrorists continues,' officials stated.
Governor Gul indicated that the attackers had employed both rifles and pistols during the assault. He also confirmed no Israeli diplomatic personnel were present at the consulate, situated in Istanbul's main Besiktas business district.
The gunfight transpired in broad daylight, with social media videos capturing the incident where one armed attacker was reportedly shot by police.
Witnesses reported that the gunfire was 'loud' and persisted for 15-20 minutes. Videos circulating online depicted significant police presence and multiple police vans around the consulate, cordoned for several hours after the event.
Currently, there are no Israeli diplomats in Turkey, and the consulate has been vacant for over two years due to strained relations following the war in Gaza.
The justice minister confirmed that an investigation into the assault has been initiated.
