Ankara, April 7 – All three attackers were killed after a gunfight broke out with police personnel deployed outside the building housing the closed Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday. The gunfire occurred outside the consulate building in the Besiktas district, local media reported.
Turkey's Justice Minister Akin Gurlek stated that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation after receiving reports of gunfire sounds in the vicinity of the Israeli Consulate in Besiktas, according to the country's leading media outlet, Daily Sabah.
In a post on X, Gurlek stated, "Upon receiving reports of gunfire sounds near the Israeli Consulate in the Besiktas district of Istanbul, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has immediately initiated an investigation. Within the scope of the investigation, one deputy chief public prosecutor and two public prosecutors have been assigned; our public prosecutors have promptly arrived at the scene and begun examinations."
"Under the coordination of our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, in collaboration with relevant law enforcement units, the work is ongoing to fully clarify the incident, and the investigation is being conducted meticulously and in a multifaceted manner," he added.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said that the Consulate building has not been actively used for diplomatic purposes for approximately 2.5 years. He mentioned that two police personnel also sustained minor injuries in the exchange of fire.
Turkey's Minister of Interior Mustafa Ciftci later said that the three attackers who were involved in an armed clash with Turkish police personnel were neutralized. He stated that the terrorists have been identified.
"Three individuals who engaged in an armed clash with our police officers on duty in front of the Yapı Kredi Plaza Blocks in Istanbul have been neutralized. In the clash, two of our heroic police officers sustained minor injuries. The identities of the terrorists have been identified. It has been determined that the individuals, who arrived in Istanbul by a rental vehicle from Izmit, include one with ties to an organisation that exploits religion; and it has also been established that one of the two terrorists, who are brothers, has a drug record," Mustafa Ciftci posted on X.
Preliminary assessments have indicated that no diplomatic personnel were present at the site of the incident, Daily Sabah reported.