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Associated Press
Shootout at U.S. Consulate in Istanbul Leaves Six Dead
by
Anne Szustek
Three police officers and three of four gunmen were killed in a battle after the attackers approached the diplomatic compound. Some reports link al-Qaida to the shootings.
30-Second Summary
Four bearded gunmen, all age 25–30, got out of a gray car parked near the entrance of the consulate at around 11 a.m. local time Wednesday. They first shot at a police cabin near the consulate’s entrance, then at the compound’s guard post. A traffic cop was the first to fire against the gang and was the first to be gunned down, according to an account from bystander Ufuk Yavuz. Istanbul-based journalist Matt Mossman reported that eyewitnesses said one of the gunmen shot himself during the 15-odd minutes of fire.
Three of the assailants were shot down at the scene. Two other police officers shot during the battle later died from their wounds at Istanbul’s Istinye State Hospital, located down the hill from the diplomatic compound. A land, sea and air search for the fourth attacker is in progress.
Istanbul chief prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin called the shootings “a terrorist attack,” a sentiment seconded by American diplomatic staff. An unnamed Turkish police official said that al-Qaeda was suspected to be behind the attacks.
Consul General Sharon Weiner, the top U.S. diplomat in Turkey’s largest city, confirmed that all staff are “safe and accounted for.”
The building of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul is enclosed in a walled compound in Istinye, a far-flung district of the city near the upper reaches of the Bosphorus. It opened in June 2003, prior to the bombings of synagogues and of the British Consulate in the city, contrary to the AP’s report.
Three of the assailants were shot down at the scene. Two other police officers shot during the battle later died from their wounds at Istanbul’s Istinye State Hospital, located down the hill from the diplomatic compound. A land, sea and air search for the fourth attacker is in progress.
Istanbul chief prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin called the shootings “a terrorist attack,” a sentiment seconded by American diplomatic staff. An unnamed Turkish police official said that al-Qaeda was suspected to be behind the attacks.
Consul General Sharon Weiner, the top U.S. diplomat in Turkey’s largest city, confirmed that all staff are “safe and accounted for.”
The building of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul is enclosed in a walled compound in Istinye, a far-flung district of the city near the upper reaches of the Bosphorus. It opened in June 2003, prior to the bombings of synagogues and of the British Consulate in the city, contrary to the AP’s report.
Headline Links: U.S. Consulate in Istanbul under fire
Ross Wilson, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, told the AP, “The Turkish police responded quickly and effectively. … It is, of course, inappropriate now to speculate on who may have done this or why. It is an obvious act of terrorism.”
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune (AP)
Anatolian News Agency, Turkey’s state wire service, reported “Mehmet Onder Saçmalioglu, 21, one of the dead police officers, had started his duties as a … traffic police officer just two weeks ago.”
Source: Turkish Daily News
Video: Gunfire outside of U.S. Consulate in Istanbul
Istanbul-based freelance journalist Matt Mossman told CBC that eyewitnesses reported 15 minutes of gunfire, in which one of the attackers reportedly turned the gun on himself.
Source: CBC
The CBC’s Nil Koksal reports that two of the four gunmen were Turkish passport holders. Initial reports said a third gunman had a Syrian passport, but Turkish police are confirming only that the two other assailants were foreign citizens. Footage of the U.S. Consulate’s fortresslike building and surroundings is included in the clip.
Source: CBC
Background: The dedication of the American Consulate in Istanbul
On June 12, 2003, then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dedicated the U.S. Consulate General compound in Istanbul. During his speech at the brand new building, he said, “Americans look to the future. In moving to this new building, up the Bosphorus, in Istinye, we are committing ourselves to the future of Istanbul, this dynamic world city that continually grows and expands and changes.”
Source: American Consulate General-Istanbul
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