TURKEY-ATTACKS/USA-ATTACKER Attack on U.S. consulate in Istanbul carried out by two women - governor

Record ID: 144457

  • Title: TURKEY-ATTACKS/USA-ATTACKER Attack on U.S. consulate in Istanbul carried out by two women - governor
  • Date: 10th August 2015
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (AUGUST 10, 2015) (REUTERS) BUILDING WHERE THE SUSPECT WAS INJURED AND DETAINED VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN AND SECURITY NEAR CONSULATE POLICE VAN BEHIND SECURITY CORDON U.S. CONSULATE
  • Embargoed: 25th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA65JB85B6C3CVHU6UJDOXQJY1S
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul was carried out by two women, one of whom has been captured wounded, the Istanbul governor's office said on Monday (August 10).
    Armed police cordoned off the area near the U.S consulate in the Sariyer district on the European side of Istanbul following the gun attack there.
    According to local resident Ahmet Akcay, officers then tracked down the suspects.
    "Two women were carrying shopping bags and walking in the neighbourhood. We woke up to audio of gunfire and went to the window. We saw a woman taking cover with a gun but she wasn't shooting. The other one fired four or five rounds aiming at security officials and consulate officers," he said.
    Video shows an officer yelling at a person in the distance before he fires several times in that direction.
    "Policeman was shouting 'drop your bag, drop your bag'. And the woman was saying: 'I will not surrender. I came to avenge the attack in Suruc. I will avenge the attack in Suruc. The police warned her again. "Drop your bag or we will have to shoot you" and the woman said: 'Shoot'," said Akcay who witnessed the exchange.
    The Kurdish town of Suruc near the Syrian border was the target of a suspected Islamic State suicide bombing last month. At least 30 people, mostly students, were killed in the attack.
    The Dogan news agency said the woman was aged 51 and had served prison time for being a suspected member of the far-leftist Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front (DHKP-C).
    The group is virulently anti-American and is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and Turkey.
    Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
    Turkey has been in a heightened state of alert since starting its "synchronised war on terror" last month, which has included air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Syria and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq.
    It has also rounded up hundreds of suspected militants at home.
    The attack on the consulate came at the same time a vehicle laden with explosive on the other side of Istanbul was used in an attack on a police station, injuring three police officers and seven civilians, police said.
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either of the attacks, but U.S. diplomatic missions and police stations have been targeted by far-left groups in Turkey in the past.
    The DHKP-C, whose members are among those detained in recent weeks, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at the U.S. embassy in Ankara in 2013 which killed a Turkish security guard.
    The consulate remains closed to the public until further notice.
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