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| Attack at US Istanbul consulate | Attack at US Istanbul consulate |
| (41 minutes later) | |
| Three policemen and three gunmen have been killed in an armed attack near the US consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul, its governor has said. | Three policemen and three gunmen have been killed in an armed attack near the US consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul, its governor has said. |
| The identity of the attackers is still unclear, but they began shooting at 1100 (0800 GMT). The police are looking for a fourth man seen with them. | |
| Another policeman and the driver of a police tow-truck were injured in the ensuing gun battle, the governor added. | |
| There are no reports of any injuries to staff working in the consulate itself. | There are no reports of any injuries to staff working in the consulate itself. |
| After the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, the consulate was moved from the centre of Istanbul to a hill on the outskirts in the north-eastern Istinye district. | |
| One of them approached a policeman while hiding his gun and shot him in the head Yavuz Erkut Yuksel 'Three Germans seized' in Turkey | One of them approached a policeman while hiding his gun and shot him in the head Yavuz Erkut Yuksel 'Three Germans seized' in Turkey |
| It opened in 2003, and has checkpoints and barriers well away from the main building. | It opened in 2003, and has checkpoints and barriers well away from the main building. |
| In what appeared to be an unrelated incident, three German climbers were kidnapped by members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the eastern Turkish province of Agri on Tuesday, its governor said. | In what appeared to be an unrelated incident, three German climbers were kidnapped by members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the eastern Turkish province of Agri on Tuesday, its governor said. |
| No identification | No identification |
| Speaking at a news conference after the consulate attack, Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said one of the police officers had died at the scene. The others died of their wounds later, at a nearby hospital. | Speaking at a news conference after the consulate attack, Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said one of the police officers had died at the scene. The others died of their wounds later, at a nearby hospital. |
| "There is no doubt that this was a terrorist attack," Mr Guler said. | |
| Television footage showed paramedics carrying out CPR on one person on the ground outside the high-walled complex. Blood could be seen flowing from the head of one of the three other men lying nearby. | Television footage showed paramedics carrying out CPR on one person on the ground outside the high-walled complex. Blood could be seen flowing from the head of one of the three other men lying nearby. |
| Mr Guler said two of the dead attackers had been identified as Turkish. He did not release any names and said he was unwilling to speculate about who they might have been. | |
| Istanbul prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin said the attackers had been armed with pistols and shotguns. | |
| The police are also looking for a fourth man, who was driving a grey Ford Focus car that dropped off the gunmen outside the consulate and left before the attack. | |
| A witness, Yavuz Erkut Yuksel, said the attackers had initially emerged from a car and surprised the police officers guarding the building. | |
| "One of them approached a policeman while hiding his gun and shot him in the head," he told CNN-Turk. | "One of them approached a policeman while hiding his gun and shot him in the head," he told CNN-Turk. |
| Enis Yilmaz, who was applying for a visa at the consulate, said there had been four attackers, one of whom had escaped. | |
| "Three of them got out of the car and fired at the police. I saw them dead afterwards, lying on the ground and many more dead among the police," he told the Reuters news agency. | "Three of them got out of the car and fired at the police. I saw them dead afterwards, lying on the ground and many more dead among the police," he told the Reuters news agency. |
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| Aftermath of attack at US consulate | Aftermath of attack at US consulate |
| The US embassy in Ankara told the Associated Press that it was "co-operating with the police and taking the appropriate measures". | |
| Turkey has seen armed attacks from a variety of groups in recent years, the most deadly of which occurred in November 2003, when 58 people were killed by Islamist militants in suicide bombings outside two synagogues, the British consulate and a British bank in Istanbul. | Turkey has seen armed attacks from a variety of groups in recent years, the most deadly of which occurred in November 2003, when 58 people were killed by Islamist militants in suicide bombings outside two synagogues, the British consulate and a British bank in Istanbul. |
| The PKK has also been blamed for several attacks, including a car bombing that killed six people in the city of Diyarbakir in January. | The PKK has also been blamed for several attacks, including a car bombing that killed six people in the city of Diyarbakir in January. |
| Are you in Istanbul? Did you witness the incident? Send your comments using the form below: | Are you in Istanbul? Did you witness the incident? Send your comments using the form below: |